


One Day At A Time

by keenwonderlandcollector



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:21:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25646509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keenwonderlandcollector/pseuds/keenwonderlandcollector
Summary: Reaching the right room, you slipped inside and took a seat near the back, only then noticing the hushed whispers and surreptitious glances around the room.But not at you, no.The source of this attention was none other than Tony Stark.-The last person you ever expected to see at your AA meeting was Tony Stark, yet there he was.
Relationships: More to follow - Relationship, Tony Stark/Reader, minor Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes
Comments: 20
Kudos: 66





	1. ONE

**Author's Note:**

> So, fair warning: this story will deal with a reader who is a recovering alcoholic, and the issues surrounding that. If that doesn't sound like your kind of thing, then feel free to give this a big old skip.
> 
> If, however, you want to give it a chance, go for it.

_“Shit.”_

You grabbed your purse from the passenger seat of the car before getting out and heading inside the rec centre.

Reaching the right room, you slipped inside and took a seat near the back, only then noticing the hushed whispers and surreptitious glances around the room.

But not at you, no. 

The source of this attention was none other than Tony Stark.

Sitting in the back row in an expensive suit and dark sunglasses, typing on his phone.

Having missed last week’s meeting due to work you wondered if you’d missed something, but the reactions mostly seemed to be of surprise.

Why would Tony Stark be sitting in an AA meeting in Queens at 10am on a Tuesday?

Well, why was anyone sitting here, you supposed his reasons were the same as yours and everyone else in the room.

Except nobody else in the room was a famous billionaire.

You looked away from him, trying to focus your attention on the woman speaking at the front of the room. Even she couldn’t help looking in his direction every now and then.

A few more people got up and spoke, though it seemed most people’s attention was focused on trying to figure out why Tony Stark was in the room. 

When the meeting ended you glanced over to the back row and found it empty.

A week later, at the same time and in the same place the meeting started. Only this time, there was double the amount of people there were last week.

But no Tony Stark.

A week after that, the attendance was suddenly half of what it had been the week before. 

Tony was sitting in the back row, occasionally glancing up from his phone. 

After the meeting, you stayed sitting for a minute, scrolling through your phone.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

You looked up and nearly dropped your phone when you saw Tony standing in the aisle by your chair.

“Uh, sure.” You nodded, slightly in disbelief. 

“Great,” He slid into the empty seat beside you. “so, would I be right in assuming that last week, there were way more people here than usual?”

His cologne was nice, you noticed. Earthy. 

“Can I take that as a yes?”

“Oh, yeah, there were definitely a few unfamiliar faces.” You snapped out of your thoughts.

“And this week back to normal?” 

You nodded. 

“How fickle it all is. So, what’s the deal with these things then?” He asked, taking out his phone.

“The meetings?” 

“Yeah.” He began typing and you shifted slightly in your seat.

“Well..some people get up and share with everyone, most people just like to sit and listen. It’s a good group, sometimes some of us go out for coffee after, you’re welcome to join us anytime.” It just slipped out, it was something you’d often said to new members. 

“Oh, no thanks.” He didn’t look up.

“Okay.” You smiled, feeling your cheeks heat up slightly. He’d have a million better things to do.

“Maybe some other time.” He looked up after a moment, and you nodded. He was just being polite.

“Sure. Well, I better get back to work. It was nice meeting you.” You grabbed your purse as he gave you a wave, getting up and heading out of the building.

The next week there were some new faces, though nowhere near as many as the week after Tony’s first appearance. 

He was back again. 

The whispering seemed to have dissipated, though there was still the odd glance in his direction.

You had bigger things to focus on this week.

“..our congratulations. She has officially earned her One-Year chip.” 

There was a round of applause, followed by an invitation for you to get up and say a few words. 

This was a new experience. In the year you’d been attending these meetings, you’d never spoken in front of everyone, preferring to just listen to the others.

You stood up, making your way to the front of the room and giving a quick introduction. The sea of faces looking up at you was a little overwhelming, so you decided to focus your attention on the notice board at the back of the room.

“I’ve never actually spoken up here before, but there’s a first time for everything, right?” You smiled, feeling slightly more at ease. “I’d just like to say thank you to all of you, I’ve heard a lot of your stories and they were so inspiring, as well as making me realise that other people have had similar experiences to me, and they made it through the other side. I mean, a year ago..”

You looked down at the bronze chip in your hands, twisting it slightly before looking back at the board. 

“I was in a bad place. I lost my job, my home, my relationship and a lot of friends. And it was because of my drinking, because it caused me to stop taking responsibility for my actions. But I realised that losing a lot of friends in particular wasn’t the worst thing. I noticed that all the people who stopped being friends did so because I _wasn’t_ drinking anymore, so there was no reason to hang out with me. Most of my friends were totally supportive, and I’ve made many more friends here at these meetings who I’m very grateful for. It was actually a friend of mine who’d attended these meetings himself that introduced me to them, and let me stay with him while I sorted myself out. Now I have a new apartment, a job I love, great friends and..and this,” You held up the chip in your hand with a smile. “which means the world. Thanks for listening.” 

There was more applause and you made your way back to your seat, your eyes briefly catching Tony’s.

At the end of the meeting, you placed your chip into your purse and got ready to leave, only to hear someone clear their throat behind you.

“Oh, hey.” You smiled, finding Tony standing in front of you.

“Hey,” He gave you an easy grin. “I was just wondering if that offer still stands? For coffee?”

“Sure, yeah” You were a little surprised he took you up on it but there were worse ways to spend your time. “I can’t speak for anyone else but I’d be happy to join you.” 

“Good, because it’s you I’m asking.” He slipped on his sunglasses.

“There’s a great little place around the corner, we could go there.” You suggested, still in slight disbelief.

“Lead the way.”

This was one of the more surreal moments of your life, sitting having an americano with a billionaire.

“So,” Tony leant back in his chair, one arm resting on the back of it. “I guess you’re probably wondering what I’m doing attending AA meetings?”

“Well not to be presumptuous,” You raised an eyebrow. “but surely alcohol must be some kind of factor. That or you’re doing research for some kind of screenplay.”

“Wow, my cover’s blown just like that. And I was gonna offer you a role in the movie.” He sighed dramatically, leaning back in the booth.

“As?” 

“Extra.”

“Lucky me.” You raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of coffee.

“Well I was prepared to bump it up to ‘Girl speaking at AA meeting’ after this morning. That was impressive.” He offered.

“I’m flattered.” You grinned.

“You should be. A whole year, huh? You gonna celebrate?” He asked, glancing out the window.

“Yeah, some friends of mine are making dinner and a few of us are gonna go over to their place.” You studied him for a moment, before looking around the cafe. A couple of people were looking over, but mostly people just kept to themselves.

“Sounds sophisticated.” He looked back at you.

“On paper, in reality we’ll probably have to order take out because my friends, while enthusiastic, can’t exactly cook.” Memories of many cremated dishes flooded your mind.

“Then why cook at all?” He frowned.

“It’s a nice gesture.” You countered.

“So is giving someone the finger.”

You could only laugh at that.

Before parting ways you exchanged numbers, offering your availability to talk anytime. You knew what it was like when you began your own sobriety journey, and having people in your position now to talk to, and thought he might appreciate it.

“Alright, well don’t say I didn’t warn you when it’s two in the morning and I’m calling _you_.” He smirked.

-

That night, you made your way over to Bucky and Steve’s place, gift bag in hand. 

“You didn’t have to get us anything.” 

“Hello to you too, Buck.” You grinned.

After embracing each other in a warm hug, you stepped inside, Bucky closing the door behind you.

“Now, before you say anything else, this is simultaneously a thank you present _and_ a housewarming gift.” You insisted, handing your friend the gift.

“Well that changes things,” Bucky grinned, accepting the bag. “Listen, sorry I couldn’t be there today, but you know how proud I am.”

“I know,” You nodded, a smile on your face. “but hey, you’ll never guess who-”

“There you are!” Steve emerged from the living room, heading over to you.

“Hey, Steve.” You grinned, accepting the hug he gave you and giving Bucky the _‘I’ll-tell-you-later-look’_ over Steve’s shoulder. 

“Congratulations, we’re all so proud of you.” He rubbed your back softly before pulling away. 

“Thank you, and thank you for laying this on, you didn’t have to.” You gave him a grateful smile.

  
  


These two had already done so much for you, and had supported you wholeheartedly through everything. 

Bucky had been sober for a couple of years when you began your journey, and was your absolute rock. You two had been friends for years, meeting in college and quickly becoming close. Neither of you noticed the other’s problems with alcohol at the time, it was natural for two college kids to party all the time. During your second year, Bucky decided to drop out, feeling that college wasn’t working out for him. He enlisted in the army and you carried on with school, not stopping the partying. 

After 18 months of service, Bucky was given an honorable discharge. During a routine operation his company had been attacked, and Bucky had lost his left arm when a bomb detonated and he covered a young girl in the market they’d been in. Returning home, he started drinking heavily, and as you were just starting to fall into addiction yourself, you, to your shame, never noticed how badly it was affecting him. 

He eventually decided to get help, and started attending AA as well as veteran support meetings. It was at one of those meetings he met Sam Wilson, who encouraged him to visit a friend of his who was working as a physiotherapist. The rest was history.

By the time you yourself decided to commit to sobriety, you had lost a lot. Weeks of poor performance at work and missing multiple days lead to your termination. You had been living with your boyfriend of two years, Aaron. The relationship had been struggling for a while, and upon reflection it was no great secret why. You hadn’t blamed him for ending things, you were drinking every night, picking fights over nothing, not being who he’d fallen in love with anymore. 

It hadn’t been a question, Bucky insisted that you come and stay with him while you sorted things out. He and Steve weren’t living together then, but spent most of their time at Bucky’s place. At first, you were convinced Steve didn’t like you. His boyfriend’s alcoholic friend crashing in the spare room, taking up all his time? Who’d possibly want that. You soon realised how far from the truth that was. It was you pushing him away without realising, being paranoid. 

The two of them were so patient with you, never pushing you to hurry the process. When Bucky suggested going to a meeting with him, and when you said you didn’t feel ready for that, he said no more about it. A couple of weeks later, you asked to go with him, ready to take the next step. They never made you feel like a burden, always asking if you wanted to watch a movie with them, or go to dinner or just go for a walk in the park. A lot of the time you agreed, becoming as close with Steve as you were with Bucky. There were times when you left them to it, and though they never said it, you were sure they were grateful. 

When you had mentioned an interest in dating again, Steve set you up on a date with Sam. Though you two hit it off, you both decided to just be friends. (Okay, _maybe_ there had been some sneaky and _maybe_ there was an incident at Steve’s birthday party, but it had been _very_ friendly). It was actually Sam that helped you get your job, he mentioned a friend of his who was working at SHIELD (Supporting Homeless Individuals & Expatriates Looking for Domicile), a charitable organization that needed a new marketing manager. From there you met Wanda, who was working as the organization’s social media manager and had been involved with the charity herself as a child when she and her family came to New York. You two hit it off straight away and soon you began working together. 

“Come on, it’s the least we could do,” Steve grinned, taking you from your thoughts. “Everyone’s inside, come on through.” He slung his arm across your shoulders, the three of you heading into the living room where your other friends were waiting.

“Hey, look who’s finally here.” Natasha grinned.

“This celebration is for _you_ , you know.” Clint raised an eyebrow.

“Hello to you two, too.” You rolled your eyes playfully, heading over and giving them both a hug.

“Congratulations, you’ve done amazing.” Natasha whispered in your ear as you hugged, winking as you moved apart. Clint gave you a knowing smile, nodding as if he knew exactly what Nat had said to you. 

You’d first met them, fittingly, together. 

One evening after work Wanda had offered for you to join her at the kickboxing class she attended. Having agreed, you found yourself at Archer Fitness, where Wanda introduced you to Natasha, a human rights attorney who she’d become friends with through the class. Natasha in turn introduced you to Clint, the owner of the gym and her close friend.

Soon, you had become good friends with the two of them, and as with your other friends they were completely accepting and supportive of your sobriety. It became the norm that you would get a text from one of them to say that you’d be going on a power walk during your lunch break (the faster you walk the faster you can eat) or heading to a class after work. It wasn’t always to do with exercise, they would often invite you out for food, or to go shopping or to the movies. Anything really, and though they were a little more forceful about getting you to do things than Bucky and Steve, the majority of the time you found yourself grateful for having done something positive. 

You mouthed a thank you to them both before going to say hello to Sam and Wanda, who were laughing with each other by the window.

“Hey, there you are, how’d it go today?” Sam smiled, greeting you with a hug.

“Really good, actually.” You squeezed his arm gently as you pulled away before accepting Wanda’s hug and congratulations. 

It made you smile to know that your friends were so supportive of you, that they had stood by you this past year and beyond.

As you were talking to Sam and Wanda, you noticed Steve and Bucky opening up your gift.

It was a framed photo of the couple on the beach. Bucky was leaning back on his hands, Steve was sitting up, his head turned towards Bucky, saying something to him that was making him laugh. 

A few weeks ago, all of you had gone to the beach for the day. You’d been sitting in a deck chair across from the couple, replying to a text on your phone when you’d spotted the moment. Snapping a quick picture, you went back to your business and forgot about it. It was only when you were thinking of what present to give them that you’d remembered it.

You caught Steve’s eye as Bucky was looking at the photo, a smile on his face. Steve mouthed a _‘thank you’_ and gave you a huge smile. You smiled back, waving your hand slightly. It was the least you could do.

“Well I hope you’re all hungry, because the lasagne should be done soon.” Bucky announced, setting the photo in place on the shelf.

“Judging by that smell I’d say it’s already done.” Sam wrinkled his nose as Bucky’s face fell.

“Oh shit.”

“I’ll give you a hand.” You gave Bucky the _‘I need to talk to you face’_ and he nodded.

“Time of death?”

“Let me check..let’s say seven-fifteen.” You opened up your contacts and found the number for a local pizza place.

“Maybe next time I’ll get it right. Why must it be so hard?” Bucky moaned, picking up a glass of fruit punch from the counter and passing it to you before getting one for himself.

“Thanks. Well you can’t be good at everything, Buck.” You offered a sympathetic smile as you hit dial.

A few minutes later, with the pizzas ordered you decided to share your news.

“So, you’ll never guess who’s been coming to the meetings lately.” 

“Who?” Bucky asked, scraping the cremated lasagne into the trash.

“Tony Stark.” 

“Really? So he has been going to them then.” Bucky was totally nonchalant as he placed the baking tray in the sink.

“He-what? Did you know?” You set your drink down on the counter, looking at your friend.

“Yeah, I recommended it to him.” He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“You know Tony Stark? Why didn’t you say so?” You were stunned.

“We’re not super close or anything, he’s an old friend of Steve’s. It just never came up.” He shrugged.

“Buck, as much as I appreciate that you’re not a gossip, some things are worth bringing up.” You raised an eyebrow.

“Did you talk to him? I told him about you.” Bucky smiled, taking a sip of his drink.

“You did? We went for a coffee and he never mentioned it.” You frowned.

“Coffee huh?” Bucky smirked.

“Yes, coffee.” You sighed. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

“It worked out alright though, didn’t it? Coffee with a billionaire, that doesn’t happen everyday. Or does it?” Bucky winked.

“Oh shut up.” You sighed, swatting his arm gently as he laughed.

A little while later you were all sitting in the living room, pizza boxes covering the coffee table. 

“Any development on those wedding invitations yet, Clint? That engagement party was a while ago.” Bucky teased.

“You ever tried planning a wedding? Running the country would probably be easier.” Clint sighed, taking a slice of pepperoni and dropping it on his plate.

“Well that’s why you have me, the best woman.” Natasha grinned, gently nudging Clint.

"So Nat," Steve grinned, setting his drink down. "will you be taking the doctor as your date?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Natasha sighed, focusing on her pizza slice.

"Oh come on," Sam teased. "the doctor? We know."

"There's nothing to know," Natasha rolled her eyes, though there was a hint of a smile on her lips. “anyway, tonight's not about me.” She smiled at you.

“That's fair,” You nodded thoughtfully, taking a slice from the nearest box. “so..if the rule is that tonight is about me, then I want to know how your date with the mystery doctor went the other night.” 

A little later on you were curled up on the plush armchair, scrolling through your phone. Steve and Bucky were cleaning up in the kitchen, Nat was taking a call outside, Wanda was smiling to herself at something on her phone and Sam and Clint were laughing at something on the TV.

Your eyes fell to the boxes on the table, a couple of slices left. Snapping a quick photo, you sent it on to Tony. 

A few minutes later you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket and were surprised to see a response from Tony, though it did make you smile.

That's a gesture alright. 

  
  


-

Your phone buzzing on the nightstand woke you up.

It was still dark out, and checking the time on the screen you groaned. 

02:00.

“Hello?” You answered, not bothering to check who was calling. You could guess.

“Would it hurt to be a little more alert? I could have a bottle in my hand.”

“Do you?” You sighed, though you sat up slightly in the bed.

“Well, no.”

You groaned.

“But I _could._ You said call you anytime, and I’m just testing that.”

“I said call if you’re struggling, Tony.”

“I am struggling.” He sighed.

“Okay,” You sat up completely, forcing yourself to wake up properly. “Where are you?”

“Well I’m down in the lab and I’m working on a little something that doesn’t want to cooperate with me. You wouldn’t be a highly skilled engineer by any chance? I could use a second pair of hands.”

“Tony?” 

“Yeah?”

“Go to bed, get some sleep.”

“Oh, I can get on board with this bossy thing.”

“Goodnight.”

“As you wish.” 

  
  



	2. TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony begins to open up more.

__

_“Leave me alone.” You muttered under your breath, looking at your buzzing phone screen._

_“What’s wrong?” Ali asked, sliding into the booth beside you._

_“He’s calling me again. This is like the fourth time tonight, I’m fucking sick of it.” You sighed, placing the phone down on the table._

_“Just turn off your phone, he’ll get the message.” She shrugged, looking out at the crowded dance floor._

_“He’d better.” You switched your phone off, dropping it into your purse._

_“Here, forget about him.” Ali grinned, sliding a drink over to you, which is gratefully accepted._

_But it’s not enough._

_It’s never enough, not anymore._

_More drinks._

_Dancing to whatever this music is, it all just blurs into a thumping noise._

_Your back pressed against a solid front, arms wrapped around you._

_More drinks._

_Stumbling into the bathroom, banging the door closed._

_There’s someone in here with you._

_It’s Ali, she’s taking something you can’t see._

_She’s dragging you back out._

_More drinks._

_Stumbling into a cab, the city lights whirling past._

_Fumbling around for keys, slamming the front door._

_He’s not here, or if he is he’s not letting you know._

_Shoes being kicked off, crashing onto the couch._

_Not noticing the note on the coffee table._

_Not yet._

-

The soft buzzing precedes the chirping of your alarm. 

You sat up slowly, blinking awake. 

Looking around, you sighed in relief to find yourself in your apartment. 

Just a dream.

You went through the usual morning routine before grabbing the mail as the coffee machine rumbled into life.

Bill, flyers for local businesses, coupon book, and something handwritten. 

Pouring a cup of coffee first, you sat back down and opened the handwritten envelope.

“About time.” You smiled to yourself, reading the invitation for Clint and Laura’s wedding. Your eyes lingering on the ‘plus guest’ for a moment before placing the invitation down on the table and finishing your coffee.

-

“Well, it’s about time.” Wanda smiled as she opened up her invitation.

“I said the same thing.” You laughed, taking a sip of water.

You were sitting at your desk, Wanda sitting across from you.

“Are you taking a date?” You asked.

“Why, are you interested?” She teased.

“Wanda, I’d be flattered to have you as my date.” You winked, the two of you laughing.

“There might be somebody I could ask.” She smiled softly, her finger tracing over the invitation.

“First Nat, now you, is there something in the water?” You laughed softly, sitting back in your chair. 

“Maybe there is,” Wanda grinned. “you’ll just have to wait and see.”

The morning went by quickly, nothing out of the ordinary. 

“You wanna go get something to eat?” You asked Wanda, noticing the time.

“Oh, I can’t. I’m..meeting someone.” A faint blush rose in her cheeks as she smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Ah, say no more.” You smiled. 

As you were considering just grabbing a sandwich and taking it back to the office for lunch, a different option presented itself in the form of a phone call from Tony.

“Tony, hey.”

“Hey, listen, are you busy?”

“Well I was just going to grab something to eat but, no, I’m - is everything okay?”

“Oh everything’s fine, yeah, I was actually just gonna go grab something myself and I thought maybe you could tolerate my company for an hour?”

“Well if it’s only for an hour..sure, why not.” You grinned.

“Great. You ever tried shawarma?”

And so, instead of sitting at your desk eating a generic sandwich and taking a _‘we know what genre of movie you are based on what type of cheese you choose’_ quiz, you find yourself sitting in the park eating something much more delicious with much ~~more attractive~~ better company. 

“So how’s your morning been?” He asked, his eyes not meeting yours.

“Good, yeah. Nothing too strenuous, thankfully. How about you?” You took another bite of shawarma, making a note to include it in future lunch plans.

“Fine, yeah. Good.” He nodded. 

He’d been quiet since you’d met up, and before you could question it a woman who looked like she’d just stepped off the runway of an Italian catwalk approached you.

“Hi, I’m so sorry to interrupt you,” She smiled, and if possible it made her look even more beautiful. “but could I get a selfie with you? I’m such a huge fan of your work.”

“My pleasure.” Tony smiled, standing up.

“Oh, could you.” He looked at the shawarma in his hand and then at you, and you nodded politely, reaching your hand out and accepting it. 

“Thanks.” He gave you a small smile and you returned it, watching as he slid his arm around the glamazon’s waist, the two of them smiling as she snapped a picture.

As he whispered something in her ear, she let out a melodic giggle and you felt a knot in your stomach which what was _that_ about it’s not like Tony is your boyfriend or anything and any-

“Thanks.” 

You snapped back to reality as Tony took his lunch back from you, taking a bite. 

“Don’t mention it.” You murmured.

You both ate in silence for a while, the uncomfortable feeling in your stomach starting to fade away.

“Can I ask you something?” Tony turned to you, and you nodded.

“Was there. Did you..” He turned away for a moment, letting out a sigh before clearing his throat. “Did you have a moment where you just thought ‘I don’t want to do this anymore?’ with alcohol? Like was there a..a snap in your mind where you thought ‘this is it, I’m quitting?’”

“Well, not exactly,” You started. This explained why he’d been so quiet, you supposed. “it was as if I was on autopilot at first. I’d lost my job, my boyfriend had broken up with me, and I moved in with my friend Bucky. Who, by the way, you never told me you knew,” You raised an eyebrow as he held his hands up.

“It never came up.” He protested.

“Anyway, I didn’t have any particular moment where I thought ‘I’m quitting’, so much as I just kind of quit. But I remember a couple of weeks after I was sitting on my bed, reading a book when it just all hit me. I cried for probably two hours, but then I accepted that I was on the right path. I look back on who I was when I was drinking,” Last night’s dream crept into your mind. “I wasn’t a good person. I’m in a much better place now.”

“I see,” Tony nodded, his eyes focused on yours.

The knot in your stomach came back.

“I _did_ have a moment.” He said simply.

You didn’t push him, watching as his eyes drifted down to his lap.

“It was when Pepper called it quits. That was when I knew it had gone too far.” 

You’d seen stories about the alleged breakup of the couple, but never read into it. 

“I’m sorry.” You offered a sympathetic smile.

“Hey, don’t be. I couldn’t even argue with her, didn’t try to stop her. She.” He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “She put up with a lot of shit, I was lucky to have her at all.” 

“At least you’re doing something, that’s the important thing. Believe me, cliched as it sounds, life does get easier.” You sat up a little straighter.

“Does it?” He said it more like a statement than a question.

“Of course it does. Take it from me, I lost a whole lot because of my drinking, and yet now I’m happier than I’ve ever been.” You realised how easy it was for you to say this now, but remembered what it had been like to be in his position.

“I believe you. Hell, when you were talking in the meeting the other week I felt..I felt like I had nothing to complain about. I mean, no matter how much I was drinking, I still had a company, a cushy lifestyle..sometimes I felt like it was expected of me to just do whatever the fuck I wanted all the time. Maybe I knew I could get away with it, whatever I did the PR department would just throw a positive spin on it.” He smiled but you could tell he was hurting.

“You have just as much right to complain as anybody else does. Of all the things I lost, losing my relationship was the hardest. It really made me question how bad I must’ve been to drive away someone I loved so much.” While you had moved on from Aaron, it still hurt to think about him sometimes.

“I ask myself that,” Tony nodded. “Pep put up with a lot more than she deserved to, and it kills me that I hurt her so much.”

“I know it sounds super cliched, but bear with me,” You started. “sometimes it takes something major like your relationship ending to make you take a step back and really look at yourself.”

“You’re right,” He took a breath, sitting back against the bench and turning to look at you. “that was seriously cliched.”

You couldn’t help but laugh.

“I find it helps to focus on other things, work, hobbies, friends. How have they been about you getting sober?” You asked.

“To be honest, I haven’t really told anyone yet. I’ve been focusing on work, trying to distract myself. I don’t think I could handle making a big announcement about it.” He looked down at his lap for a moment.

“You don’t have to make an announcement, but I would recommend telling a few of them, even one on one. People are generally pretty cool about it, once you let them know.” You suggested.

“How did you get to be such a sage on this?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Experience. I just learned to be honest with people. Some people are easier to tell than others, like friends and family, but it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to have to tell my boss, or some of my colleagues. It did stop them assuming that I was pregnant when I didn’t drink at the christmas party, though.” You smiled.

“I suppose it wouldn’t be the worst thing to let them know.” He conceded, glancing up at the sky.

“It’ll make things easier, I promise.” You assured him.

You finished eating in a comfortable silence, occasionally noticing the passers by glances at Tony.

“I should probably apologize, actually,” Tony sighed as you deposited your trash. “because I’m sure that the shawarma experience has now ruined you for other lunches.” He offered you a genuine smile and you gave him one back, enjoying the moment.

“Apology accepted, just.” You draped your purse over your shoulder. “I better head back, I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” He nodded, and you gave one another one last smile before going your separate ways.

Through the rest of the afternoon, from attending meetings, to chatting with Wanda, to arranging to go to the movies with Nat, the smile never left your face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony is gonna be Tony no matter what. 
> 
> Hopefully this chapter was enjoyable, I'm thoroughly enjoying writing this story :)
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you thought as always.


	3. THREE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected discovery leads to an unexpected night.

The day had started out so well.

The morning was spent lounging in bed for longer than usual, scrolling through your phone and relishing in the Saturday morning sun. After a shower and a cup of coffee you threw on your gym gear, grabbed your gym bag and headed off to meet Wanda and Natasha.

The day only improved when you discovered that Clint had hired The Most Beautiful Man In The Universe as an instructor at the gym, who no doubt noticed that the majority of women in his class had trouble keeping their jaws off the floor. It didn’t help matters that he had a European accent and a smile that could light up an entire building. 

After an all too brief hour in the presence of the adonis, Nat suggested going for something to eat and so her, Wanda and yourself found yourself around the corner at bean & gone, a small cafe you often visited after the gym. All the yoga moms were leaving as you arrived, and you managed to get a table near the back by the windows that let in just the right amount of light.

“Have you seen this?” Nat asked, passing her phone over to you. It was an instagram post from Steve, a selfie of he and Bucky on the beach, looking effortlessly loved up with the caption #lifesabeach. 

“It’s alright for some, huh?” You grinned, passing the phone to Wanda.

“I wouldn’t turn it down.” She admitted before giving the phone back to Nat.

“What, a weekend on the beach or them?” Nat teased.

“Both.” Wanda raised her eyebrow before you all laughed, the sound surrounding you.

The food arrived, and you spent a minute organizing your plates with the various brunch foods.

When Wanda went outside to take a call, Nat glanced around before looking at you.

“So I never got the chance to ask you last night, but..what did you think of Bruce?” 

Last night, you and Nat had gone out for dinner, and to your pleasant surprise she had also invited Dr. Bruce Banner, her _‘it’s-too-soon-to-put-a-label-on-it-but-we-like-each-other’_ mystery date. She’d explained that she hadn’t wanted to introduce him to all of her friends at once, and wanted to do it on a smaller scale. It worked out well, as you felt you’d actually gotten to know him as opposed to saying two words to hima s he tried to interact with a group all at once.

“Honestly?” You pretended to ponder, looking up slightly and rubbing a finger on your chin. She rolled her eyes but you could tell she was anxious to know what you thought. It was flattering actually, you hadn’t been friends with Nat for all that long but it was sweet that she trusted your opinion on something like this.

“He’s _great_ , Nat,” You smiled and you could almost feel the weight lift off her shoulders. “attractive, funny, ridiculously smart, he’s a keeper for sure.” 

“I’m glad you think so. He’s not who I’d usually go for, but I really like him.” She smiled softly. There had been various moments last night when she’d look at Bruce while he was talking and have that same smile.

“Has he met anyone else yet?” You asked, taking a sip of coffee.

“He’s met Clint and Laura, we went out with them last week, and I took him to a work thing so he’s met some colleagues, but other than that..no.” She explained.

“Well I’m sure the others will be thrilled to meet him too,” You smiled as you noticed Wanda coming back over to the table. “and if he happens to have a twin, you know where I am.” 

“What’s so funny?” Wanda asked as she sat down, Nat laughing softly.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” you smiled, deciding to change the subject. “what are you two up to today then?”

“I’m picking my brother up from the airport, he’s coming to stay with me for a week so wish me luck.” Wanda rolled her eyes playfully. She’d told you about her brother before, he was a professional athlete living out in California if you remembered correctly.

“He’s got a pretty big city to run around in, he’ll find plenty to do.” Nat smiled, taking a sip of juice. 

“That’s what I’m worried about.” Wanda countered as Nat shrugged, a laugh escaping her lips.

“What about you, Nat? Any big plans?” You asked, picking at the croissant on your plate.

“Well I was gonna try and see if I can find something to wear for Clint’s wedding, if you want to come with and be a second opinion?” Nat offered, taking a muffin and dropping it onto her plate.

“Sounds good, but don’t blame me if you can’t handle me being brutally honest. It’s not too late to retract the offer.” You teased.

“I’ll take the risk.” She grinned.

After brunch and saying goodbye to Wanda, you and Natasha hit the stores, the afternoon sun gleaming down.

“So how’s work going?” Nat asked as she examined a simple light blue chiffon dress.

“Good, yeah. Though I got the news yesterday that we’re gonna be hosting a charity ball in a couple of weeks, and I’ve been given the very enviable task of finding a suitable company to partner with us for it.” You explained as you picked out a green lace dress, admiring it until you turned it around and found it to be very backless. You and Nat both turned to each other, dresses in hand, laughing before putting them back on the rail.

“I might actually be able to help you, with the work thing at least.” Nat offered as you both made your way over to another rail. 

“Oh?” You raised an eyebrow as you examine the dresses in front of you, none particularly grabbing your attention.

“Yeah,” Nat nodded, picking out a black lace midi dress and running her eyes over it. “I mean, we’re not close friends or anything but I’ve met him at some official functions and some of my law school friends work for him. I’m sure I could set up a meeting, if you want?”

Did _all_ your friends know Tony Stark?

“Oh,” You picked out the first dress you could, keeping your attention focused on it. “that’s really sweet of you to offer, Nat. I don’t want you to go out of your way or anything.” 

There was a note of guilt in your voice you hoped she wouldn’t notice. It didn’t feel right to bring up that you knew Tony already, as you’d have to tell Nat how you met him, and it didn’t feel right to share that information. Not now, at least.

“It’s no trouble,” Nat looked over at you and smiled. “and I’m not guaranteeing anything will come of it, but I’ll put in a good word.” 

“That’s..that’s great, thanks, Nat.” You smiled, looking back at the rail of dresses in front of you. 

“Come on, I want to try this on.” She touched your arm gently before you nodded, heading to the fitting room with her and trying to focus your mind away from a certain billionaire.

Though neither of you found anything appropriate, you had enjoyed the afternoon drifting from store to store, chatting about anything and everything.

When you got home, the sun was low in the sky and you decided to unwind for the evening. With that in mind, you had a long shower, before spending a leisurely amount of time doing all the moisturising, lotioning and general pampering you could muster.

After ordering some takeout, you switched on the TV and opened up your laptop, deciding to do some preliminary work and made up a list of possible partner companies. Nat's offer to put you in touch with Tony crept into your mind.

Would it be awkward? Too personal? The last thing you wanted was for him to think you were taking advantage of him or his company.

You decided to leave work alone for a while, finishing dinner and watching the TV, though it didn't really hold your attention. After cleaning up, a call came in from Sam, and despite neither of you having anything of any real importance to say to each other, you managed to stay on the phone for over an hour. 

When you hung up you felt better, deciding to take your laptop into bed and watch a movie before going to sleep.

That was the _plan_ , at least.

You had gotten into bed, relaxed, had Netflix open when a notification flashed onto your phone. It was for an article on VINE, an online news site. You decided to check it out while you searched for a movie, opening it up.

At first it seemed fairly straightforward, supermodel has new boyfriend, blah blah blah..until you saw the photos attached. Clicking on them, you were taken to the Instagram page of said supermodel. Your fingers trembled slightly as you swiped through them.

It was Aaron. He was the new boyfriend. 

It wasn't that he had met someone else, that was natural. For all you knew he could've had dozens of relationships since you broke up, it didn't matter. 

But reading that article, seeing those photos. It was so.. _public_.

It was easy to move on when you never saw him, and didn't follow him on social media anymore. Yet now, there he was. He looked so happy, so in love. You remembered when he used to look at _you_ the way he was looking at her, buy you flowers just because. 

_Why did it hurt so much?_

You got out of bed, pacing along the floor, one hand on your forehead. Couldn't they have waited until the morning before posting that damn article?

It shouldn't have mattered. He could date anyone he wants. As could you.

Would he feel the same way if he read an article about you and ~~To~~ and a celebrity?

Probably not.

Grabbing your phone, you contemplated calling one of your friends until you saw that it was 11pm.

This wasn't even that big a deal. An ex-boyfriend dating someone else? _Boo fucking hoo_.

Why, _why_ had it hit you so hard?

You thought about calling Bucky, he'd understand. But he was away with Steve, and you weren't going to interrupt them.

It's not like you were tempted to drink or anything like that, it was that you..you couldn't put your finger on it, you just weren't feeling right.

As the thought _'you could call Tony'_ breezed into your mind you pushed it away. Tony Stark had better things to do on a Saturday or any other night than listen to you complain about an ex doing a very normal thing.

Though he had recently lost his relationship, he might be able to..no.

As you tried to convince yourself to just go to bed, go to sleep and forget about this, you found yourself bringing up Tony's number and dialling before you knew it.

Voicemail.

His voice sounded comforting.

"Hey, sorry to bother you so late, I'm just..having a _very_ stupid moment over an ex and I don't know what to do and you're obviously busy and you know what, just ignore this. Bye."

As you hung up the realisation hit you.

_Yes_ , you had just left a rambling message about essentially nothing on Tony Stark's voicemail.

If you weren't getting any sleep before, you certainly wouldn't be getting any now.

-

As you lay in bed, the first movie that had appeared on Netflix played on your laptop. Not that you were paying much attention. It had been half an hour since you left that voicemail and you were still hoping a giant black hole would appear in your bedroom for you to jump straight into.

Your phone buzzed on the nightstand and you reluctantly picked it up, eyes falling on the screen. A frown formed on your features as you read the message again.

_“Come outside in 5.”_

It was from Tony.

This couldn’t be real, you decided. No way. 

And yet you found yourself digging through the closet for a decent pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. Once you were dressed you went to the living room, throwing on a pair of simple white sneakers and grabbing your purse, making sure you had your keys and phone.

This couldn’t be real.

As you stepped outside the building there was no sign of anyone, the air cool and silent.

“Thought so.” You muttered to yourself, preparing to head back upstairs when a very sleek and expensive-looking Audi came into view and smoothly parked up on the sidewalk. You thought it was safe to assume that it wasn’t Mrs. Flores from across the hall coming back from bingo.

As you began to approach the car the back door opened, with Tony stepping out and gently shutting it behind him. He looked different than the other times you’d seen him. This time instead of an immaculate suit, he was wearing black jeans, an AC/DC t-shirt and a simple grey blazer. His hair was a little messier too. He looked great.

“What did you do, track me down?” You raised an eyebrow as you came to stand in front of him, only slightly still in disbelief that he was actually here.

“No, no. I’ve actually been to ten other buildings before this one, you've saved me a lot of time.” He held his hands up, a small smile on his face.

"Glad I could help." You smiled, folding your arms across your chest as a cool breeze blew over you.

“So listen, you wanna come for a drive or just want to stand on the sidewalk all night? Your choice." He offered, folding his arms.

“I could just go back to my apartment, you know.” You glanced back at the building before turning to him with a smile. Was this real? It felt like you had fallen asleep and this was a blissful dream.

"Ah, but does your apartment have heated leather seats as well as both hot _and_ cold air conditioning?" Tony raised an eyebrow, opening the back door of the car. 

"You got me." 

“Alright, hop in.” 

It was only when you got into the car that you noticed there was no driver in the front seat, and Tony had been in the back when the car pulled up.

“Driverless. What do you think? Just a little side project, at the moment, at least.” Tony, seemingly sensing your confusion, explained as he got in beside you and closed the door.

“What do I think? I think..” The Aaron problem seemed like such a stupid reason to be wasting this man’s time. “if this is a side project I can only imagine what your main one is. Robot army?” You raised an eyebrow, turning to look at him as he picked up the tablet laying on the seat between you and began typing, the car pulling away from your apartment.

“Well now that you know about my secret plan..” He sighed, placing the tablet in his lap and turning to you with a devilish grin that absolutely didn’t send a tingle down our spine. 

As you went to speak you couldn’t help but be amazed as the car drove along, the lights of the city whizzing by, the streets quiet.

“So I’m assuming you know that I got your message earlier?” 

As he said it your body froze. Oh god. The thought of him listening to your stressed ramblings had you cringing.

“I figured if you were calling _me_ it must be serious. What happened?” Tony asked, shifting in his seat slightly.

He’d gone out of his way to come and talk to you, the least you could do was explain, embarrassing as it felt to do.

“I’m just gonna warn you now that this is so juvenile it’s ridiculous, but..you know the ex I was telling you about the other day? He..he met someone else.” As soon as the words left your mouth you regretted it. 

“Oh, I see.” Tony nodded, eyes looking down to the floor. He was probably thrilled that he’d come all the way to your apartment for this.

“He..well, it’s not that he’s dating someone else,” You explained, trying to salvage the situation. “I read an article about Talia Zyma, this ridiculously beautiful twenty-two year old supermodel who has a new boyfriend and well..it turns out her new boyfriend is my ex-boyfriend. It’s one thing for you ex to move on but to see them move on so publicly it was just..it just threw me. I don’t know why.”

“Ah, now I get it,” Tony’s eyes met yours and you felt like you’d managed to remedy the situation. “if it’s any consolation, if I read that Pepper was now dating someone like that..it’d throw me too.” 

“I know it sounds so stupid, to get..to let it affect me,” You started, looking over at the front seats, your skin feeling slightly warm. “I wouldn’t care if he’d been dating a hundred supermodels, it was just _seeing_ it.”

“I get it, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Did it.” He cleared his throat and you looked back at him. “did it make you want to..you know.” He gave you a look and you took a moment to understand what he meant. “is that why you called me?”

“No, I didn’t want a drink, I..I didn’t really know what I wanted. I guess that’s why I ended up calling you, I was just in a stress-induced panic.” You sighed, rubbing a hand across your forehead.

“Well that’s one positive. Christ, if I saw a photo of Pepper and some young stud..I don’t know if I’d be so strong.” He shook his head, looking out his window.

“You could always call me, I could just tell you long winding stories that put you to sleep. Not all of us can pull a rom-com move and just show up outside someone’s apartment.” You smiled.

“Unfortunately I don’t think it can be classed as a rom-com moment, I forgot my boombox.” Tony shrugged.

“Maybe next time.” You joked, feeling more relaxed.

“Maybe. I’ll make a note of it.” Tony nodded, smiling to himself as he looked ahead at the seats in front of you both.

You both stayed quiet for a while, a comfortable silence laying over you. When you lay a hand on the empty middle seat you could’ve sworn Tony’s hand brushed against it, though you kept your gaze on the city outside.

As you recognized that you were circling back to your apartment, you sat up slightly in your seat, a wave of tiredness hitting you.

“Listen,” Tony started. “don’t worry about your ex, you’re..you’re doing well for yourself.” He smiled softly.

“Sorry again to bother you with it, you didn’t have to come all the way out here.” You smiled apologetically. This was the last thing you’d expected him to do. 

“Hey, you’ve been good to me, and I know I could turn to you with something like this. Anyway, it gives me a chance to test out the car.” He grinned.

“Well that’s always a plus.” You nodded, a smile on your face.

“This whole ‘helping out a friend’ business..this is just a happy coincidence, really.” Tony shrugged, raising his hands up.

“Mm, so it is.” You sighed playfully, watching as the car drew closer to your building, pulling up outside it before too long.

“Can I ask you something?” Tony turned to you as the car came to a quiet stop.

“Oh..sure, yeah.” You turned to face him, his eyes focused on you.

“How did you rate the experience in the car? One star, two thumbs up, that kind of thing?” He asked, keeping his face serious though there was a hint of a smile on his lips.

“Are you telling me this whole thing was just a marketing stunt? I should’ve known better.” You shook your head, biting your lower lip.

“I’m sorry if you thought this was something else, I really am.” He placed a hand over his chest before a smirk broke out. 

“Well whatever this was, I very much appreciated it. Thank you again, Tony. This was a big help.” You felt the urge to touch his arm, or give him a hug, but refrained.

“Don’t mention it. Here,” He sat up, leaning towards you and you felt your heart beat slightly faster. 

Was he..

“Just..getting the door for you,” His hand found the door handle, pushing it open before he sat back in his seat. “can’t have you thinking I’m anything but a gentleman.”

“Not at all,” You murmured, your whole body feeling warm. “thank you.”

You got out of the car, taking a deep breath as you did. The door shut behind you again and you began to walk towards the building, appreciating the cool air.

“Hey, before you go.” Tony called.

You turned around to see the backseat window rolled down. 

“In all seriousness..” 

Your heartbeat sped up again.

“What did you think of the car?” He asked, resting his chin on his fist.

You rolled your eyes up to the sky, a smile on your face before you looked back at him, lifting up your hand and giving him a simple gesture.

“Duly noted.” Tony gave you a wink before the window rolled back up and the car took off, leaving you to head back up to your apartment in a much better mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some alternate universe where Tony Stark drops by my apartment beause of a stupid voicemail and I am sticking to that.
> 
> Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, as always feel free to leave some feedback, it's always welcome :)
> 
> x


	4. FOUR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A good day leads to a better night..relatively.

When you woke up on Sunday morning you were almost convinced the previous night had to have been a ( _wonderful_ ) dream. A knock on your front door followed by a delivery of a bouquet of wildflowers assuaged your doubts. Once you’d signed the docket and closed the door you examined them, finding a note attached.

_Roses (and supermodels) are seriously overrated._

_—TS_

After re-reading the note a few times and finding a vase for the flowers, there was a definite spring in your step for the rest of the day. When you met your friends at an Italian restaurant around the corner from Steve and Bucky’s place in Brooklyn that evening you still had trouble keeping the smile off your face. Thankfully, the conversation focused on Steve and Bucky’s trip. 

_“The pictures were so gorgeous!”_

_“How much was the airbnb?”_

_“If you want to invite me next time I wouldn't complain.”_

Later in the evening, you found yourself alone in the restroom with Natasha. 

“Hey, remember I said I’d put in a word for you with someone from Stark Industries?” She asked as you made your way to the sink.

“Yeah, I remember,” You nodded, keeping your eyes on the sink as you washed your hands.

“Well, I was talking to a friend of mine from law school last night who’s working as part of Tony Stark’s legal team now. She said she’ll look into getting a meeting set up for you, isn’t that great?” Nat announced.

“Wow, that’s..that’s so kind of you, Nat,” You looked up at the mirror in front of you, catching her eye and smiling. “thank you, and please give my thanks to your friend too, you really didn’t have to.”

“It’s not a problem, don’t worry.” She grinned as you dried your hands. 

A knot of guilt formed in your stomach. This was a good thing, an incredible gesture from a friend. Yet your fear of Tony thinking that you were taking advantage of his name and company resurfaced.

“Shall we?” 

You looked over as Nat held the door open, giving her a small smile before heading back to the table.

“Hey, I wanted to ask you about something,” Bucky turned to you quietly when everyone was talking amongst themselves.

“Sure, what is it?” You asked, turning to him.

“Well I wasn’t sure if I should bring it up but..I saw this article that was about-”

“Aaron?” You asked, watching the surprise on his face.

“You know about it? I didn’t know if you did and I wasn’t sure if..”

“Buck, it’s fine,” You insisted. “I saw it, and..it’s fine, he can be with who he wants. Obviously it wasn’t the greatest thing in the world to see but I’m okay, really.” In a different setting you may well have told him about Tony, but it didn’t feel like the time or place

“Are you sure?” He asked, lightly gripping your hand under the table.

“Absolutely.” You smiled, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

“What are you two whispering about?” Steve asked, looking at you from his seat on the other side of Bucky. 

“Nothing, just the trip.” Bucky shrugged, giving your hand a squeeze before letting it go.

Steve nodded, giving you a smile that suggested he knew the truth, but said no more about it.

You gave him a grateful smile back, relaxing into your chair.

-

At work the following day, you immersed yourself in expanding upon your preliminary plans from the weekend, trying to push the niggling feeling of discomfort from your mind. Had Tony been told about the idea? Would he trace it back to you? 

You pushed the thoughts from your mind, not wanting to think about it anymore.

“Hi, I’m looking for Wanda Maximoff, is she around?” 

You looked up from your desk to find a man standing by Wanda’s empty desk. You were certain you’d never met him before, yet he looked oddly familiar. His blonde hair was messy, with dark roots peeking through. There was a hint of stubble coating the lower half of his face and he had a confident glint in his eyes. He didn’t look much younger than you, maybe only a year or so. Overall he was pretty cute. 

  
“Who can I say is looking for her?” You asked, trying to remember if you’d ever met him before.

“I’m Pietro, her brother. I’m sure she’s told you all about me.” He grinned, leaning against the desk and folding his arms.

“Oh right, of course.” You smiled. “Yeah, she’s here, she's just on a call right now, she’ll be back in a minute.”

“At least I’m in good company while I wait.” He winked and you rolled your eyes, though the smile remained on your lips. 

“Pietro? What are you doing here?” Wanda frowned, coming over and standing by her brother.

“I was just passing by the building and thought I’d say hi.” he shrugged.

“And?” She folded her arms, looking every inch the stern sister. 

“And nothing.” He smiled.

“Pietro.” She raised an eyebrow, eyes focused on him.

“And _maybe_ I left my key in your apartment and need another spare.” He admitted.

“You’re such a child sometimes, you know that?” Wanda raised her hands, swatting him gently on the arm before moving to her desk.

“Can you believe she talks to her own brother like this?” Pietro turned to you imploringly, a small smirk on his face.

“Ignore him.” Wanda sighed, picking her purse up and rooting through it.

“I’m staying out of it.” You smiled, holding your hands up.

“Here,” Wanda took a loose key from her purse and handed it to her brother. “If you lose this, you’re never staying with me again.”

“Love you too sis.” He grinned, tapping the key against his hand.

“I’ll see you at home, go on.” She rubbed his back gently, her tone softening.

“Okay okay, I’m going.” He pocketed the key before turning to you. “Nice to meet you, by the way.” He smiled, giving you a wink before heading out.

“Sorry about that.” Wanda sat back down, laying her purse under her desk.

“Don’t worry about it, it was fun seeing you be all sister-ly.” You smiled, glancing over at the door.

-

As you were thinking about where to go for lunch, your phone buzzed on the desk, drawing your attention. Your breath hitched slightly as you saw it was a text from Tony.

_So I heard that a certain company is interested in partnering with us for a charitable event. Normally of course I’d never be interested in such a thing but since it’s you I suppose I could be persuaded. If it’s not too much trouble why don’t you call by the tower this evening and you can show me your ideas?_

So he _had_ heard. It was unclear if he had been able to trace it back to you, but you could always just explain it to him. It wasn’t as if you had gone behind his back, Nat just happened to offer. And, you supposed, there were worse things to do than spend an evening with Tony Stark.

Purely professionally, of course.

_Well I was going to stay in and wash my hair tonight but I suppose I could make an exception for you. What time_ ~~_do you want me_ ~~ _suits you?_

_I’m flattered you could squeeze me in with such a hectic schedule. Let’s say seven?_

_Seven it is. Since it’s short notice, don’t expect a PowerPoint, that ship has sailed. 🚢_

_Then I’ll just have to take what you can give me. See you tonight. Get back to work._

~~_Yes sir._ ~~

-

You closed your apartment door behind you, tossing your purse onto the couch before heading to the kitchen. The flowers Tony had sent sat by the window, the dimming sun making them look even more beautiful. You wanted to give him something in return, to say thank you, but what could you give someone who had (and could easily afford) everything?

Settling on the old fashioned approach, you threw together a brownie mix, jumping into the shower while they cooked.

Deciding what to wear was more challenging than it ought to have been. You wanted to look professional, considering the reason you were going over there, but there was no harm in still looking.. _nice_.

Settling on a plain white t-shirt and a black polka-dot midi skirt, smoothing it out before throwing on your plain white sneakers and examining yourself in the mirror.

_Perfect_.

Once you had everything ready, you placed the brownies into a plastic container and then into a plain canvas bag, grabbing your work stuff before heading to your car.

En route traffic was slow, but not too much so. Soon you arrived at Stark Tower, the building looming proudly. Before you left the car your phone buzzed in your purse. 

_Running a little late, feel free to head on up to the penthouse, I’ll be there soon._

Taking a breath, you gathered your things before heading into the imposing building. There were a few people milling around, most ignoring you. 

“Can I help you, ma’am?” A man in a dark suit approached you, tablet in hand, not looking particularly unfriendly.

After explaining the situation and him tapping at the tablet, he looked at you with a small smile.

“Right this way.” 

You followed him to the elevator, the doors opening for you. The man simply nodded, walking away and leaving you alone once more. You stepped inside, the doors closing after you. Scanning the various buttons, you pushed the one at the top labelled ‘PH’ and waited for the elevator to move.

“Authorization required.” A voice sounded. 

After the momentary shock, you gave your name, looking around for some kind of recognition you’d been heard. 

“One moment, please.”

A holographic screen appeared, words and numbers flashing on it at lightning speed before a beam scanned over you, bathing you in a blue light for a moment before the screen disappeared again.

“Authorization approved.” The voice announced before the elevator smoothly rode up the tower.

“I’m in Star Trek.” You mused to yourself, folding your arms. Before long the elevator came to a stop, the doors sliding open and revealing an area bigger than your entire apartment.

“Welcome to the penthouse. Mr. Stark has been temporarily delayed, and shall be along shortly.” The voice informed you.

“Oh, thanks.” You looked around, as if a body would appear to match the voice. In a way you were glad Tony was delayed, it gave you a chance to have a mild internal freakout about the size of the place. He really was a billionaire.

You stepped further into the room, not wanting to linger by the elevator. The lights were lit just enough to coat the room in a warm glow, the lights of the city twinkling outside. As you made your way over to the window, you took a breath, reminding yourself why you were here.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.” 

You looked over to see Tony walking down the stairs across from you. 

“Hey, it’s fine. I’ve just been admiring this place, it’s..well, you live here, you know.” You smiled, words failing you.

“That’s true, but it’s always nice to hear.” He smirked.

As you made your way over to him your eyes fell on the large bar that had escaped your notice when you first arrived. Tony’s gaze followed yours, before you looked up at him.

“Oh that..don’t worry about it,” He waved a hand towards the bar. I’m actually drawing up plans to have it torn down and rebuilt as a..bookshelf. Right, Jarv?” 

“Indeed, sir.” The disembodied voice from earlier sounded. 

“You wanna explain that to me?” You raised an eyebrow as Tony smirked.

“Did I forget to mention JARVIS? How rude. He’s just a friendly AI, nothing to be afraid of.” He shrugged, as if everyone had one in their home.

“I see,” You nodded, still getting used to the idea. “Well, before I forget I wanted to give you this,” You opened the canvas bag, taking out the tupperware container and handing it to him. "it's just a little something to say thank you for the other night, and for the flowers. They’re beautiful."

"Oh, well thank _you_ ," He raised an eyebrow, a curious smile on his face. "for this, you didn't have to."

"Please, it's the least I could do." You smiled as he led you over the couch.

"Are these..brownies? Did you make these?" He asked, peeling off the lid and looking inside.

"Yeah, you're not..allergic are you?" You asked, a slight panic rising within you.

"No, no it's just..you made these? What are you, Martha Stewart?” He smirked to himself.

“Martha Stewart?” You raised an eyebrow

"Ah, see she's—" 

"No, I know who Martha Stewart is it's just..that's a bit of an outdated reference, no?" You smirked, sitting down on the couch.

Tony was quiet for a moment before a smile graced his lips and he nodded. "I'll give you that."

-

As you were preparing the presentation, you decided to let Tony know about your involvement. 

“So, listen, before we go any further, I’m not sure how you found out about us wanting to partner with Stark Industries..” You began, nerves bundling.

“I just get an email after the proposal goes through the right channels.” He waved a hand before looking slightly guilty. “I know, I should probably take a more active role than just giving the green light at the end.”

“Okay, it’s just that I didn’t want you to think that I was taking advantage of our..friendship for my own benefit.” You breathed.

“Why would I think that?” He asked, his tone soft.

“Well, I was talking to a friend of mine about work, and mentioned we were looking for a company to partner with for the ball and she has a friend who works for your legal team, and I didn’t mention that I already knew you and..” You could feel yourself rambling, unable to stop.

“Hey, hey. Don’t worry, I know you wouldn’t just use my name like that. It’s okay. I don’t know if you heard, but I am known as a bit of a philanthropist, amongst other things.” He gently placed a hand on your arm, his touch sending a shiver down your spine.

“I’m glad you understand, I wouldn’t want you to think ill of me, is all.” You smiled, your arm on fire where he was touching it.

“Not possible.” He murmured, his eyes soft. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Alright, well here’s what I’m thinking so far,” You laid out your proposal on the coffee table. “it’s just a rough draft, but it sets out what we’re hoping to do.”

“Alright, let’s see.” He nodded, taking the glasses from his shirt and putting them on, which made it just slightly difficult to focus on what you were here to do.

As you talked, you found yourself stealing glances at him, his fingers lightly brushing under his chin as he looked at the documents you’d laid on the table. Occasionally you were sure you could feel his eyes on you, but when you looked his gaze was elsewhere.

Eventually you managed to get through your mini-presentation, your body feeling slightly warm the entire time.

“What do you think?” You asked, looking over at him.

“Well,” He took the glasses off, tapping the arm against his lip for a moment before laying them down on the table. “I think it sounds great, really.”

A wave of relief washed over you, and you felt yourself relax slightly.

“Okay, great. I’ll get all this organized into a proper presentation before the official meeting.” You began gathering up the documents, stopping when you felt Tony’s gaze burning onto your skin. 

“What?” You asked softly, turning to look at him.

“Nothing, sorry.” He murmured, keeping his eyes on you as you slowly sat back on the couch, heart racing.

“Everything okay?” You asked, the air around you suddenly feeling thick.

“Yeah,” Tony nodded, his eyes lowering to your lips. “fine it’s just..” 

Before you could respond his lips crashed against yours, your whole body having a momentary shutdown. As he went to move away you pressed your lips back against his, your hands reaching up and touching the sides of his face as his arm circled your waist. Moving your hands up to graze the back of his neck, you gently raked your nails over his skin, his breath hitching slightly. Using the opportunity to deepen the kiss, you eased your fingers up to lightly grip his hair, his hand resting on your thigh, fingers gently brushing against the material of your skirt.

Your mind clouded over with lust as his tongue swept against yours, his fingers gripping your skirt like he wanted to tear it off. You licked into his mouth as he pulled you flush against him, a searing heat rising between your legs. Everything melted away around you as he pulled back, his eyes meeting yours with a darkness that made you clasp your thighs together, a slickness forming.

A moan escaped your lips as he ran his tongue up your neck, his breath hot. Your head tilted back as his teeth nipped at your flushed skin, your fingers tightening in his hair. All you wanted was to fall back, pulling him with you until you were totally engulfed in flames.

All too soon you felt him pull away from you.

“I shouldn’t be doing this,” He sighed, standing up and rubbing his hand over his face. 

_“Oh but Tony you absolutely should.”_ Your mind protested.

“This is wrong.” He muttered, looking over at the windows.

You felt your stomach drop.

“It’s not that I don’t..” He sighed, tilting his head back. “it’s..I invited you over here to talk about work and then just..I’m sorry. That was inappropriate, how I acted.” He insisted, his hands gesturing frantically.

“It’s fine.” You murmured, willing a black hole to suddenly appear beneath your feet.

“I don’t want you to think I’m just using you as a rebound or anything, because-” He started, but you weren’t sure you wanted to hear the rest.

“No I..I understand. It’s okay. I should really be going, anyway. It’s getting pretty late.” You stood up, smoothing out your skirt. 

“Yeah, of course. You know what, leave this,” He gestured to the coffee table. “with me, I’ll read over it tonight and then get back to you tomorrow. That sound good?”

“Yeah,” You forced a smile. “that sounds fine. Talk to you then.”

“Great.” He nodded, his eyes not meeting yours.

You made your way to the elevator, keeping your eyes on the door that seemed to take an eternity to open. For one fleeting moment you wanted him to stop you. 

Once you stepped inside you quickly pressed the button and stood against the wall, letting out a shaky breath as the doors closed, taking you back to reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because it can never just be straightforward can it? That’s too easy 😉
> 
> Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, it was a lot of fun to write, stay tuned for more soon!


	5. FIVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s so easy to ignore someone until they’re right there in front of you.

“..and that’s all for today. Thank you all for coming, and we’ll see you again soon.” 

You stood up, draping your purse over your shoulders as you prepared to leave. It had felt like the longest hour of your life, trying to pay attention to the people speaking and not look across the room at Tony. You didn’t know if he’d turn up today, but you spotted him out of the corner of your eye arriving a little late. 

He’d sent a text apologising, but you didn’t reply. You’d spent most of the night awake, feeling embarrassed about what had happened earlier and yet not able to stop thinking about how it felt to have Tony kiss you, touch you, for that brief moment.

“Hey, you wanna go get a coffee?” Danielle, one of the friends you’d made at these meetings approached you with a smile.

“Oh, hey” You forced a smile, snapping yourself out of your thoughts. “I don’t think I can today, I have a ton of work this week.” 

“That’s okay, next time maybe.” She smiled sympathetically as you glanced across the room, seeing Tony adjust his suit as he stood up.

“Yeah, for sure. See you next week.” You nodded, heading out of the building and ignoring the pang in your chest.

-

Back at work, you found an email from Stark Industries awaiting you. Taking a deep breath, you opened it, scanning over the words looking back at you.

_..philanthropic opportunities..meeting to follow..excited for the shared experience.. _

_ Alice Nakashima,  _

_ Personal Assistant to Mr. Tony Stark. _

You made a note of the time for the meeting next week, grateful that this one would be more professional, and you wouldn’t have to be alone with Tony. Relatively grateful, anyway.

“Everything okay?”

Wanda’s eyes met yours as you looked up, a concerned look on her face.

“Yeah, fine. Just thinking about this meeting with SI, that’s all.” You looked away, wondering how you must’ve looked for Wanda to ask. 

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, nothing to worry about.” She smiled and you suddenly wanted to explain everything to her, but kept it in, offering a small smile instead.

As the week went on, you tried to focus on work, hanging out with friends, going to the gym, all things you usually enjoyed but now felt like a distraction from Tony’s texts. You felt guilty, and a little petty. He was only trying to apologize, but you had been stung by what happened, and still felt like you weren’t quite over it yet. For now it was easy to just ignore the messages, convining yourself it was the right thing to do as much as you sometimes itched to reply.

On Thursday evening after work you and Wanda decided to go to Thunder Blast, the fitness class headed up by The Most Beautiful Man in the Universe, who managed to keep your mind off Tony, at least for an hour. You’d actually learned a little more about him, such as that his name was Thor, he had moved to New York from Norway a couple of years ago, he could light up a whole room when he laughed, and, when a rumor began to circulate that he’d been spotted regularly with a mystery brunette around town, there was a decrease in attendance to his classes. You, Natasha and Wanda still persevered, for purely fitness-related reasons. It was just a bonus that he’d started wearing smaller shorts as the weather got hotter.

“Okay, see you then.” You waved to Wanda after the class, getting into the car taking your phone from your purse as you started up the engine. 

_ I’ll keep annoying you until you talk to me.  _

Your grip tightened on the phone for a split second, a part of you wanting to respond, to call him, hear his voice. The phone fell back into your purse as you backed out of the parking lot, your hands feeling warm on the wheel.

On Friday morning Wanda didn’t turn up at work, sending you a text that mainly consisted of 😩😵 over and over and a selfie of her in bed cradling a hot water bottle. You couldn’t help but laugh at her miserable pout, sending a quick ‘feel better soon’ text back before getting to work.

At lunchtime Sam sent a text with a link to an event ticket, a gig in Brooklyn tonight. 

_ friends brother is the bassist, might be fun. dinner first? _

_ sounds good, kimoto @7?  _

_ you’re on  _

After firing off a text to Maya, a friend of yours who worked as the hostess at the restaraunt and promised to squeeze you in, you perked up a bit. A night out was just what you needed, looking forward to just spending some quality time with Sam. 

-

“I invited some of my friends from work out too, is that alright?” Sam asked as you sat down at rooftop table with your drinks, the air feeling cooler than it had on the way over. You felt relieved with your choice of outfit, a black denim mini skirt with a grey tank top and some white sneakers. 

“Of course, you don’t need to ask.” You picked up the menu, your eyes scanning over it.

“I inivited everyone else but Clint and Laura are up to their eyes in wedding planning, Steve and Buck are having a night in, Nat’s out with her mystery man and Wanda’s still sick.” Sam shrugged, picking up his own menu. “We’re gonna have to settle down, we’re missing out on all the action.”

Natasha had actually invited Bucky and Steve out for dinner so they could meet Bruce, though you kept that little nugget to yourself.

“Well as far as I’m concerned our deal still stands.” You grinned, taking a sip of your drink.

“I’m not counting on it as an option though, no way you’re still gonna be single at forty.” Sam raised an eyebrow, a smile on his face.

“How about this, if we both become widows in our old age we’ll move into a beach house and enjoy retirement.” You suggested, raising your glass.

“Deal.” Sam grinned as you clinked your glasses together.

-

The venue the gig was at was a few blocks from the restaraunt, you and Sam laughing arm in arm as you headed towards it, the evening air warm.

“Hey, guys.” Sam waved to a group of people standing outside who you assumed were his friends from work.

A chorus of greetings preceeded a round of introductions as you tried to remember all their names.

The first room in the venue had tables and chairs scattered around, with a bar tucked in the corner and a jukebox playing softly while people chatted and laughed. A pink light hung over the room and followed through into the hall that led to the room the band would be playing in, a stage being set up at the front and a bar to the side. Various neon signs illuminated the room, reflecting off the large crowd. 

By the time the band came out you all had drinks in hand, and you felt more relaxed, confident you just about knew everyone’s names and pleasently surprised to learn that Liv, one of Sam’s friends also didn’t drink. You also noticed that Sam’s hand would slip around her waist occasionally, and that she’d watch him go when he went to the bar or the bathroom. She was cute, with long brown curls, doe-like honey coloured eyes and a stunning smile. You wondered if she was who Sam had hinted at liking. If so, you were glad. She was super friendly, chatting to you like you two had been friends for years. 

“I’m just gonna get another drink, does anyone want one?” You asked loudly as the band played. They were good, but nothing you hadn’t heard before. It was just fun to be out, instead of sitting at home thinking about-

“Yeah, I’ll come with you.” Sam nodded, everyone else shaking their heads and holding up their cups.

“Let’s go.” You smiled at Sam, the two of you weaving through the crowd to get to the bar.

“So, everybody seems really nice. Liv is really cool.” You smiled as Sam grinned at the mention of Liv’s name, turning to the bar and catching the bartender’s eye.

“Yeah, she’s..she’s great.” Sam nodded, smiling to himself.

“Hi, could I get a club soda with cranberry juice and a..beer?” You turned to Sam, who nodded, glancing back at the crowd. “beer, please.” You reached into your purse, handing over the money.

“You didn’t have to get those.” Sam looked back at you as you waved a hand dismissively. 

“You got dinner, this is the least I could do.” You insisted. “Though it’s still Brooklyn so..” You smirked as Sam laughed.

“Well, it’s much appreciated.” He grinned as you both took your drinks.

As you turned to go back to Sam’s friends you spotted a familair figure spotting you, giving you a smile and coming over to you.

“Hey!” You smiled, embracing him with your free arm before pulling back and turning to Sam. “Sam, this Pietro, Wanda’s brother. Pietro, this is Sam, a friend of mine.” 

“Oh cool, nice to meet you man.” Sam smiled, shaking Pietro’s hand.

“Nice to meet you too.” Pietro smiled before turning to you. “I’m just gonna grab a drink, maybe catch you later?” 

“Yeah, sounds good.” You smiled as he gave you a wink before heading away.

The band played for about an hour before a DJ came out and set up, the band mingling amongst the crowd. A couple of Sam’s friends disappeared into the front bar, and after dancing for a while Sam and Liv disappeared too. You headed to the bar, feeling a little flushed from all the dancing in such a crowded space. As you waited Pietro appeared beside you, resting his elbows on the bar. 

“There you are.” You smiled, gently nudging him.

“Here I am.” He smirked, nudging you back before ordering his drink when yours was delivered.

“What did you think of the band?” You asked, watching as he swiped his tongue across his bottom lip.

“They were okay,” He shrugged. “I prefer this kind of thing.” He gestured to the DJ, accepting his drink with a nod.

As your phone buzzed in your purse you resisted the urge to check it, instead turning to Pietro and smiling.

“You wanna dance?”

You weren’t sure when it shifted from dancing near each other to his hand on your hip, bodies pressed together whispering into your ear about how good you looked. A couple of times you were close to kissing him, getting caught up in the music blaring and the crowd of bodies swaying around you. You knew that if you wanted to kiss him you could, you could probably take things further still, the idea playing in your mind. Maybe it would be fun, he certainly wasn’t shy in showing his interest. Yet you held back, keeping it friendly. There was no real reason to, here was a cute guy who was flirting with you, and you did find him attractive. Neither of you were seeing anyone else, as far as you knew. You certainly weren’t. 

“I’ll be right back,” You touched his arm, talking into his ear as he nodded, giving you an easy smile as you headed to the bathroom, wanting a breather. You dared to check your phone, tensing slightly at the message that greeted you.

_ can’t stop thinking about you, just want to talk. please. _

You shoved the phone into your purse, hands trembling slightly. Why couldn’t he just ignore you? Why did you want to get out of here, go to him, slap him in the face and then beg him to fuck you so hard you wouldn’t be able to move for a week? 

Pushing the thought from your mind, you left the bathroom, bumping into Sam, a little worse for wear with Liv holding onto his waist for support. She gave you a smile, rolling her eyes slightly.

“Hey, look who it is.” Sam grinned, pulling you into a hug.

“Hey Sam, enjoying yourself?” You patted his back gently, the smell of alcohol strong on his breath.

“We’re just gonna get a cab, it’s been a long night.” Liv smiled gently as Sam pulled back from you.

“You wanna come with us?” Sam asked, looking at you with unfocused eyes, swaying slightly.

“No, I’m alright for now. It was nice to meet you, Liv.” You smiled, Sam linking his arm around her waist.

“Likewise,” She grinned, holding onto Sam’’s shoulders, steadying him. “I better get him home. See you around.” 

“Bye guys.” You laughed as Sam closed his eyes, nodding in your direction before Liv helped him towards the exit. 

You spotted Pietro near the bar, laughing with a pretty redhead. Somewhat hesitantly, you made your way over to them, not wanting to interrupt. Before you reached them, Pietro whispered something to her, smiling at her before she disappeared into the crowd.

“Hey, you’re back.” He grinned as you approached. 

“Yeah,” You smiled softly, glancing into the crowd before looking back at him. “though I think I might take off, I’m pretty tired. Is that really sad?” It was getting to the point in the night when pretty much everyone around you was visibly drunk, and you wanted to get home, crawl into bed and fall asleep to Seth Myers. 

“Not at all,” He shook his head, a slight smirk on his lips. “you want to share a cab?”

Tony’s message swirled around your mind, your body feeling tense.

“Sure, let’s go.” You smiled. It didn’t necessarily mean anything, but knowing that if you wanted to you could take him back to yours left a strange, almost guilty excitement in your stomach.

Your apartment was closer than Wanda’s, and there was a comfortable silence on the way there. When the cab pulled up you paid the driver, lingering for a moment, unsure what you wanted to do.

“Could you hold on a second, I’m just gonna walk her to the door.” Pietro opened his door and got out before you could make up your mind, coming round and opening your door for you.

“Thank you,” You smiled, taking his hand and stepping out, letting go of it once you were upright. As you walked to the front door of the building you glanced behind you, frowning in confusion when you saw a very familiar Audi parked up in front of the cab. It couldn’t be. 

“This is me,” You stopped in front of the building, turning so that Pietro’s back was to the cars, yet the two of you were still visible. A strange knot formed in your stomach as the Audi remained in your view. “tonight was fun.”

“Very,” He smiled, his gaze falling to your mouth and you let out a breath. “I..better be getting back.” His tone suggested all you needed to do was say the word and he’d stay.

“Sure,” You nodded, leaning in closer for a second, toying with the idea of kissing him, you could almost feel Tony’s eyes on you. “goodnight.” 

Giving the corner of his mouth a soft kiss, you pulled back, gently squeezing his arm.

“Night.” He winked, relieving you of some of your nerves. You gave a small smile as you watched him head back to the cab, your gaze drifting as it drove away.

A moment later, the back door of the Audi opened, Tony emerging from it and gently closing it behind him. Even in a plain grey t-shirt and jeans he managed to look good.

“Hey.” He approached slowly, as if afraid you would make a run for it. Part of you wanted to just turn and go up to your apartment, but your legs weren’t in agreement.

“Hey.” You managed, not quite able to look at him.

“Thought you weren’t talking to me.” He said quietly, almost to himself.

“Things change.” You shrugged, folding your arms. 

“So, who was that?” He asked, and you tensed slightly.

“Just a friend.” You wondered if he was jealous, the thought making you feel better in a petty way.

“Did you kiss him goodnight?” He scoffed, before frowning. “Not that that’s any of my business.”

“What brought you here so late?” You changed the subject, hiding the smile that threatned to break out when you realised he may just be jealous.

“I figured you were too polite to ignore me face to face.” He folded his arms and you tried not to notice how his t-shirt sleeves rode up slightly. 

“Well, you are a genius I suppose.” You folded your arms, but you couldn’t fight a little bit of a smile.

“Can we..talk? We can go for a drive, if you want.” He pointed his thumb back towards the Audi and you shook your head.

“Come upstairs, I want to get a glass of water.” You didn’t, particularly. You just felt that if you were in your apartment you’d feel more comfortable. If you were to go in the car you’d probably just want to-

“Lead the way.” Tony gestured towards the door, his eyes lingering on yours.

“So what did you want to talk about?” You asked, tiredness making you more direct. 

“Oh,” Tony frowned, as if surprised you were getting straight to the point. “I..well I suppose I should apologize first, for the other night.” He started.

“You already have.” You didn’t mean for it to sound as harsh as it did, going into the kitchen and running the tap.

“I just want you to know I mean it.” Tony stayed where he was, watching you as you filled a glass.

“I believe you.” You took a long drink, as if it would make everything better.

“I shouldn’t have done what I did, I’ve regretted it since.” He came closer to you, standing on the other side of the kitchen island.

“You came all the way out here to tell me that?” You asked, unsure if he regretted kssing you or regretted stopping the kiss.

“I had more I wanted to say, it’s just now that I’m here..” He trailed off, unable to meet your eyes.

“Look, I know that technically we’re working together for a while with the whole charity thing but after that we can just..go back to being strangers.” You didn’t really mean it, and you suspected he knew that too.

“No, that’s not..” He shook his head, rubbing his temple. “this really isn’t how I thought things would go.”

“Tonight?” You asked, setting the water down on the island. 

“No, in general.” He muttered, his eyes focusing on the glass.

“How do you mean?” Part of you wished you hadn’t invited him in, had just taken the easy option and come up alone. Yet you couldn’t take your eyes off him. 

“Well I figured that getting sober meant life would just get really dull. I tried the expensive rehab, thinking that might make it more interesting but it’s just sitting in the sun with psychologists getting hard about your parental issues. So,” He took a breath, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment. “I thought I’d go the old fashioned way, AA. Bucky recommended the meetings in Queens and I thought what the hell, I’ll go to a couple, feel better and then get on with my life. I didn’t,” He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “I didn’t expect to actually get to know anyone there but then I met you and you’re,” He waved a hand in your direction, as if you would be able to interpret his meaning from a flick of his wrist.

“I’m..?” You asked, a strange heat pooling in your stomach.

“You’re gorgeous, and smart, funny..and you made me realise that my life doesn’t just have to be a grey blur because I’m not drinking. With all that was going on with the stopping drinking and Pepper breaking it off..” He paused, looking over at you for a moment before looking away again. “I didn’t know if I was just using you as a distraction or not, but now I’ve realised that I just. Like you. How childish does that sound?” He shook his head.

“It doesn’t sound childish at all.” You felt slightly disoriented. The hurt didn’t totally melt away, but it certianly thawed. Rapidly.

“No?” He murmured, his eyes meeting yours.

“No.” You looked away, his gaze feeling like it burning your skin.

“Well, I’ve said what I wanted to say. I won’t take up what’s left of your night.” He looked at you for a moment like he wanted to say something else, but didn’t, just made his way towards the door.

“I didn’t, by the way,” You closed your eyes for a moment, taking a breath. “Kiss him.”

“I see.” Tony nodded, taking in the information before gesturing towards the door. “Well, I’ll be on my way then. Sorry to bother you so late.” Tony sighed quietly as you walked over to him, opening the door holding onto the handle. He walked slowly, and part of you wished he’d stop as he got out to the hall.

“Or..” You held the door ajar, yours eyes meeting his as he turned around. “you could stay, if you want.”

He nodded, taking a step forward as you opened the door fully. He stood behind you as you closed the door. You stood for a moment, your mind racing. Taking a breath, you turned around and walked over to him, pressing your lips against his before you could talk yourself out of it. To your relief he wasted no time in kissing you back, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you flush against him, everything else melting away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why do I love cliffhangers so much? 🤦 Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, it’s a blast to write 😄


	6. SIX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you’ve got Tony Stark in your apartment there’s only one thing to do..

“I swear to God if you want to change your mind you better do it now.” You whispered, heart racing.

“I’m not making that mistake again.” He grinned, pulling you in for another kiss that quickly evolved to feverish with a side of tugging desperately at each other’s clothes.

“You know” He pulled away, hands firm on your hips. “as much as I'd be happy to just go for it right here, a bed might be more comfortable."

"Mm," You nodded, momentarily toying with the idea of just pushing him to the ground and sinking onto him before deciding he was probably right. "follow me."

You walked towards your bedroom, feeling like you were about to wake up any moment and realise this was just a dream. When you got to the room you switched on the string lights over your bed, bathing the room in a soft light.

“Who says romance is dead?” He smirked.

“I hope you’re not disparaging my efforts to entice you, Mr. Stark.” You raised an eyebrow, leaning one hand on the headboard and resting the other on your hip.

“Absolutely not,” He held a hand up, walking over to you. “I welcome any attempts at seduction.”

“Good.” You smiled, resting your hands on his arms as his hands fell around your waist, lips attacking your neck. Tilting your head to the side to give him more access, your hands tightened on his arms as he let out soft moans that tickled your skin in the most delicious way. After a moment, when it felt like you were about to melt into liquid form, you pulled away.

“Everything okay?” Tony asked, his eyes searching yours.

“Yeah, I’ll be right back. Make yourself comfortable.” You smiled softly, giving him a quick kiss before slipping into the bathroom, closing the door behind you.

“This is real, this is real, this is  _ real _ .” You whispered as you leaned against the door, trying to convince yourself that  _ yes _ , this was actually happening.

After taking a breath, you slipped off your clothes, tossing them into the laundry hamper by the sink before checking your hair and feeling very grateful you’d worn a semi decent black lace bra and panties.

“You okay in there?” Tony called with a light knock on the door.

“Yeah,” You took a breath before opening the door. “just fine.”

“Good.” He nodded, not-so-subtly raking his eyes over you. 

“You okay?” You smirked, watching as he took a moment to meet your eyes.

“Yeah, perfect.” His gaze lingered on you and you closed the distance between the two of you, wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. After a moment he kissed back, his hands gliding along the back of your thighs before gently squeezing your ass, eliciting a soft moan. He used the moment to deepen the kiss, licking into your mouth and hoisting you up so that your legs wrapped around his waist. Dampness began to spread between your legs, pressed against him so closely and having him kiss you like he was on fire and you were an oasis.

“I hope you don’t mind,” He murmured as he pulled back from the kiss, walking forward until you hit the bathroom counter. He placed you on it and kissed you feverishly, his hands roaming your hips before his fingers hooked into your panties, tugging them down. “but I’ve wanted to do this for..well, a while now.” 

You shifted as he slid your panties down your legs, throwing them aside and lifting your legs up. Moving your hands back to get a better angle, your heart pounded in your chest. This was real.

Tony Stark was in your bathroom ripping off your panties. Before you could revel in the fact, his hands gripped your thighs, pushing them apart as he leant down, his breath ghosting over your wet core.

“Look at you..” He murmured, gliding a finger along your folds, sending a shiver down your spine. “already so wet for me.” 

He took his time exploring every inch of you, his finger slowly pushing into you and making you grip the edges of the counter. Words escaped you, breath coming in short gasps and moans as he practically toyed with you. His tongue languidly flicked against your clit and you wanted to scream for more, though deep down you enjoyed this slow torture. He gently pushed a second finger inside you, groaning softly at the obscene squelching noise that emerged. With every second that passed you felt like your body was about to explode, Tony’s tongue gently swirling across your wet core, his fingers gripping your thighs as he held them up.

“Oh my  _ God _ ..” You closed your eyes as they rolled back, your body shaking as a wave burst through it. Tony lapped up your release as you came down from the high, your body feeling wrecked in the most glorious way. He slowly eased his fingers out of you and gently gripped your thighs as he stood up.

“You squirted.” He mused, tracing his fingers along your thighs.

“Oh, god.” You muttered, looking up in embarrassment, a flush colouring your cheeks.

“Hey,” He murmured, leaning in to kiss you. “it’s okay. I liked it.” 

It was strangely enjoyable to taste yourself on his tongue. In the past you’d never liked it, but now you embraced it, your hands holding onto Tony’s neck as he pulled back, a small smirk on his lips as he brought his fingers to your lips, gently swiping them until you drew them into your mouth, enjoying the taste of yourself on his skin.

“Jesus..” He muttered, his other hand caressing your cheek.

“Tony,” You whispered as you pulled back, your eyes looking up to meet his. “please?”

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again before nodding, capturing your lips in a kiss and picking you up. You struggled to convince yourself that you weren’t in a blissful dream as Tony sat down on the edge of the bed, your body wrapped around his. After a moment of fumbling in the nightstand for a condom and some shuffling around, you found yourself sinking down onto him, your hands gently resting on his chest as you held onto your hips, his eyes never leaving yours. You moved slowly, adjusting to the feeling of him inside you. Every movement sent a burst of heat through you, feeling like you’d completely erupt if you dared to move faster. You kept your pace slow, and Tony followed suit, his hand reaching up to caress your cheek, his thumb gliding along your bottom lip. 

“You..” He murmured, his gaze drifting down your body before looking back up at your eyes, your heart fluttering. “you got a little smudge. Right here.” He smirked, gently rubbing his thumb along your cheek.

“You’re hilarious, you know that?” You sighed, rolling your eyes playfully.

“I had an inkling.” He grinned, laughing softly as you huffed. 

Before you could say anything else he sat up, pushing a little deeper inside you and sliding his hands down your hips. When he gripped your ass, pulling you close against him a small moan escaped your lips, your fingers grazing his neck. 

“Good girl,” He muttered, low enough that you weren’t even sure if he’d meant to say it aloud. Whether he meant to or not, it sent a shiver down your spine, letting out a soft sigh when he gently pushed you onto your back, his lips capturing yours. 

Light scratches adorned Tony’s back as he lay claim to you, your body arching off the bed in desperate search of  _ more _ . As he pushed deeper inside you your hands fell from his back, coming to lay on the sheets before Tony gripped them in his own, holding them above your head. Your entire body hummed with pleasure and tiredness, feeling overwhelmed yet never wanting it to end. He whispered words in your ear that you couldn’t concentrate on, the rising heat pooling in your stomach drawing all your attention as you chased the high. His hands holding yours tight, his breath on your neck and hushed words were sending you flying to the edge, ready to dive off the cliff. Wanton moans that you might have tried to hide in some other world tumbled freely from your lips.

-

You laid back on the pillow, breathing shallow for a moment as you lay your arm across your head. Tony’s hand lay on your stomach, his fingers gliding listlessly on your skin as you let sleep claim you.

-

Blinking awake slowly, you found the room still submerged in darkness. Closing your eyes, you snuggled into your pillow before hearing Tony groan softly beside you, stirring beneath the blanket.

"Mm," You moaned softly as you felt him begin to get out of the bed. "stay."

"Okay," He murmured, settling back down and draping his arm over your waist. "five minutes."

When your alarm went off at seven, Tony was still asleep, sprawled onto his back with his arms resting on his chest. Slipping out from the covers, you threw on a clean pair of panties and a baggy blue t-shirt you were sure used to belong to Bucky but had made its way into your closet at some point. Tony groaned softly but didn't wake up, and you quietly padded into the kitchen, flicking the coffee machine to life.

When you returned to the bedroom with two mugs in hand, Tony was sitting up in the bed, browsing his phone.

"Morning." You smiled, walking over and leaving one of the mugs on the nightstand by Tony before walking around to the other side and carefully climbing into the bed.

“Morning,” He gave you a grateful nod before picking up the mug. “thanks for this.”

“Anytime.” You gently blew on the coffee before taking a sip.

“So,” Tony set his mug down after a moment, turning to look at you. “where do we go from here?” 

"Well, let's see..” You mused, lightly tapping your nails against the mug. “we had sex, I made you a coffee..the only logical step is to get married, I'm afraid.”

“Mm, I thought so," Tony nodded, scratching his chin lightly. "I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.”

"We'll get started on the invitations tomorrow." You sighed, taking a sip of coffee.

“Alright, but we’re not inviting the Lipmans.” Tony frowned, picking up his phone.

“Fine by me.” You grabbed your phone from the nightstand, leaning against the headboard as Tony shifted closer to you, his shoulder resting against yours as you smiled softly to yourself.

-

“Are you getting up?” Tony asked as you swung your legs onto the floor.

“Yeah, we can’t all just spend our mornings lounging around.” You teased, stretching your arms above your head and watching as his eyes fell to your very sexy pink panties with cartoon cats all over them.

“It’s a privilege I’ll continue to abuse.” Tony smirked, resting a hand behind his head.

-

Pushing open the cafe’s door, you looked around for your friends, spotting them sitting at a table near the back of the busy establishment. Weaving through the tables, you slid into the empty seat beside Bucky and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” You smiled apologetically, draping your bag over the chair. “I seemed to catch every red light on the way over here.”

Between Tony joining you in the shower and then giving you a  _ very _ drawn out goodbye, you’d found yourself running late. There had been a couple of red lights, so it wasn’t a  _ total _ lie.

“We’ve only been here five minutes, don’t worry.” Steve smiled, handing you a menu. 

“Is Wanda still sick?” You asked, glancing around the table. 

“No, she had to drop her brother back to the airport.” Nat explained, and you felt just a little relieved. You weren’t sure you’d be able to look at her without a big _‘I almost slept with your brother to make Tony Stark jealous’_ neon sign flashing in your mind. 

“How was the gig last night?” Clint asked, smiling at you from across the table. “Sam hasn’t elaborated much.” 

Down the table, Sam lifted his head from his hands, groaning softly. 

“What he said,” You grinned. “No, it was fun. How was your night?” 

“Don’t get too jealous, but we spent the night going over the seating plan for the wedding.” Clint held a hand up, giving you a sympathetic smile.

“Too late, I’m already seething.” You sighed playfully as the waitress came over and you all placed your orders, Sam looking a little greener each time food was mentioned.

“What about you guys?” Clint asked Bucky and Steve, who looked at each other for a moment, as if coming to a silent agreement.

“Oh we just stayed in too, ordered pizza and fell asleep in front of the TV.” Bucky shrugged, picking up his coffee. Out of the corner of your eye you were sure you saw Nat give him a grateful smile. 

“How are the rest of the wedding plans going?” You asked Clint, pouring yourself a glass of water from the jug on the table. 

“Pretty good. Laura’s getting her dress today so I’ve been given strict instructions to keep out of the way.” He smiled.

“He’s very upset about it, as you can tell.” Nat raised an eyebrow, giving you a look as you laughed. 

“Oh, before I forget,” Clint looked at you, leaning forward slightly. “we saw that you’re bringing a plus one, who’s the mystery date? I asked Sam the same thing, but he’s been very cagey.”

Sam was staring into his cup of coffee as though he wanted to dive right into it and float around.

“I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait and see, if you want it can be your wedding present.” You grinned. At the time you’d checked off ‘plus one’ on the invitation, not really thinking about it until now.

“You’re too kind, really.” Clint smiled, leaning back in his chair.

“I try.” You smiled as the waitress returned, coffees descending on the table.

-

“So, did you meet Bruce?” You lowered your voice, leaning in closer to Bucky. 

“Yeah, yeah we did.” He nodded, shifting in his seat to face you. “You have too, right?”

“Yeah, a little while back. What did you think?” You asked, taking a sip of water.

“At first I was really surprised, I wouldn’t have thought he was who she’d go for, but he’s great.” Bucky nodded, a smile on his face.

“I know, right? He’s so sweet and smart and funny and..” You raised an eyebrow as Bucky examined your face, a knowing glint in his eyes. “are you okay?”

“You had sex, didn’t you?” He smirked.

“What?” It came out just a  _ little _ more high pitched than you anticipated much to Bucky’s amusement. Sam briefly looked up from his coffee before putting his head back in his hands, and Nat gave you a bemused look.

“I knew it.” He grinned, looking only slightly smug as you frowned.

“How?” You asked, wondering if it was somehow written across your forehead.

“I can just tell. It’s a gift.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

“Lucky guess, more like.” You muttered, taking a sip of coffee.

“Was it good?” He leaned in a little closer as he asked.

“It was..amazing.” You admitted, a small smile tugging at the corner of your mouth.

“It’s about time,” He sighed. “I was starting to think about giving you brochures for a convent.” He smirked, nudging you gently.

“What would I ever do without you, Buck?” You raised an eyebrow.

“You’d live, but your life would be incredibly unfulfilling.” He gave you a serious look, though a grin threatened to break out.

“Thought so.” You grinned, the two of you breaking into a burst of laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last we have smut! Hopefully this was as enjoyable to read as it was to write, I had a blast 😄 Feel free to let me know what you thought and stay tuned for more soon! x


	7. SEVEN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s a lot of perks to dating Tony Stark, but for how long?

After spending most of Sunday floating between testing out the usability of various pieces of furniture around your apartment (kitchen counter very good, up against the wardrobe, not so much. You could still feel the indents the handles had made in your lower back) and half watching movies (the couch had also been  _ very _ good), you had spent the rest of the week in a blissful haze.

Having decided to keep things relatively casual for a while, you and Tony had only spent a couple of nights together. You did text regularly though, and Wednesday night’s phone call had quickly devolved into you laying on your bed with your hand sneaking into your pyjama shorts.

Bucky had figured out you were seeing someone, and you hadn’t exactly corrected him when he suggested it was a guy from work. 

“So, when do we get to meet him?” Steve asked, sitting down beside Bucky on the couch.

  
“Oh, soon,” You avoided eye contact, looking down at the stir-fry in front of you, pushing it around the plate. “we’re keeping it breezy for now.”

You should’ve known when they’d invited you round for dinner that they’d give you the third-degree about your new..situation. Part of you wanted to tell them about Tony, but it didn’t feel right to do so without talking to Tony first. 

“Is it a bad sign that we’ve only met  _ one _ of our friends’ secret boyfriends so far?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“To be fair to us,” You mused, “between you two and Clint and Laura there’s some serious couple expectations to live up to.”

“That’s true,” Bucky nodded sagely. “we have set the bar pretty high.”

“Do you think you’ll be taking your mystery man to Clint’s wedding?” Steve smiled, and you felt yourself flush slightly. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t thought about it once or twice. 

“Well I don’t know about that,” You decided to veer slightly off track, worried you’d just blurt out the truth at any minute if you kept talking about Tony. “but I do know that Wanda is taking  _ her _ mystery man. And I think Sam has a date lined up too.” 

“Oh, yeah, he told me about that,” Steve nodded, “I think her name is Liz? Liv? They work together. He seems pretty keen.”

“Oh, it’s probably Liv, I met her at the gig last week. He’s definitely smitten.” You smiled.

“Well, it seems love, or at the very least, pure unadulterated lust is in the air lately.” Bucky grinned, winking at you.

You rolled your eyes playfully, relaxing back into the armchair.

-

“And getting them to promote the event on their own platforms. Fortunately, they all have a large following, Ca-”

“Sorry I’m late.” 

Wanda stopped talking, looking slightly annoyed to be interrupted. Everyone else in the room looked up as Tony entered the conference room, closing the door behind him. 

“Mr. Stark, I thought you had meetings all morning?” Alice stood up, walking over to him.

“Well the last one ended sooner than anticipated, and this is an important event so if you don’t mind I’ll just sit,” He walked further into the room, giving you a quick smile before sitting an empty chair at the end of the desk. “and observe. Don’t let me interrupt you.”

“Please continue, Miss Maximoff.” Alice smiled, sitting back down. 

As the meeting continued, you found yourself stealing glances at Tony, his chin in his hand as he listened intently. All you could think about was how he’d looked when you’d sucked him off on his couch last night, bored with the movie he’d chosen to put on.

Suddenly it was very difficult to concentrate on the rest of the meeting. 

“Okay, I think that’s our side of things covered,” Maria Hill-Fury, your boss, announced. “unless there’s any further questions?”

Once the meeting finally drew to a close, everyone began to file out of the room.

“I just got a text from Sam, he’s already at the diner. I told him to go ahead and order for us, is that okay?” Wanda asked, draping her purse over her shoulder.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I trust his judgement, just about.” You grinned, getting up from the table. “Let’s go.”

“Could you hang on, actually?” Tony looked at you, a polite smile on his face. “I wanted to ask you something about the press release, it’ll just take a minute.”

“Sure,” You nodded, trying to keep a serious face as you turned to Wanda. “I’ll meet you outside?”

“Yeah, take your time. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stark.” Wanda smiled, somewhat sarcastically, heading for the door.

“Likewise, Miss Maximoff.” Tony gave her a serious nod and you bit your lip to stop the laugh that threatened to spill out.

“So,” You smiled, looking back at Tony once you were sure the coast was clear. “I assume that you genuinely have a question related to our joint venture and don’t just want to get me alone. You are a respected businessman, after all.” 

“Of course,” He nodded, stepping closer to you. “I can’t think of any reason for the two of us to be alone that isn’t completely professional.”

“Whatever your query is I’ll do my best to help relieve you.” You batted your lashes lightly, an innocent smile on your face.

“Well I wanted to ask if you’d be free for a totally professional, we’re-not-at-all-attracted-to-each-other dinner tonight.” Tony asked, folding his arms. 

“If by that you mean ordering sushi and then feeding it to me while I sit in your lap then yes, I’m free tonight.” You smiled, gently running your fingers along his forearm. Your back was to the door and you were sure nobody could see what you were doing.

“That’s  _ exactly _ what I meant.” He nodded, leaning in a little closer to you.

“There you are, Mr. Stark,” Alice sighed, stepping into the room. She didn’t seem to notice as you and Tony quickly moved away from each other. “You have another meeting upstairs in five minutes.” 

“Well, I better be going.” You smiled politely, picking up your bag from your chair. “I hope that answers your question, Mr. Stark.” 

“It certainly does. Thank you again.” He nodded, clearing his throat.

“Anytime.” You gave him a quick wink, slipping away to join Wanda.

-

As you’d had a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday morning that ran late, you decided to go to the Thursday meeting instead. When you’d text Tony to let him know you were switching meetings he matter-of-factly informed you that he’d be joining you on Thursday.

At the meeting, nobody batted an eyelid at Tony’s presence, the two of you sitting together at the back of the room

“I don’t see the big deal, that’s all.” You raised an eyebrow as the two of you walked around the corner to Tony’s car.

“I know. It’s just, not to blow my own trumpet but..” He gestured to himself and you bit your tongue. “not so much as a double take?”

“I’m sorry for your anonymity at an AA meeting.” You rubbed his shoulder gently, a small smile on your face.

“It’s fine.” Tony waved a hand, putting on his sunglasses. You resisted the urge to call him a drama queen. 

“I better get going. I’ll see you tonight,” Tony stopped as you approached your cars, turning to you with a smile that made you want to kiss him right then and there. “if you’re still up for it.”

“Absolutely,” You smiled, reaching into your purse for your keys. “I can’t wait.”

“Good, I promise an evening you’ll never forget.” He smirked, leaning against his Audi.

“Really? I’ll hold you to that.” You raised an eyebrow, toying with the keys in your hand.

“Please do.” He winked, reaching out and taking your hand, pulling you against him.

“Tony,” You sighed, though didn’t make any attempt to move away from him. “someone might see.”

“There’s nobody around, don’t get your panties in a bunch.” He smirked as you rolled your eyes.

“Impossible,” You trailed a finger down his chest, a devious smile on your face as you leaned in closer to him. “I’m not wearing any.”

“Really?” He murmured, hands roaming your hips.

“See you tonight, Tony.” You smiled innocently, moving away from him and heading towards your car.

As you were waiting in traffic, a text came through on your phone.

_ You’re nothing but a filthy tease. I wholeheartedly encourage this behaviour. _

-

Humming along to the radio as you spritzed some perfume on your wrists and rubbed them together, you frowned as your phone started going crazy on the nightstand.

You were greeted with a barrage of texts, most of them seeming to say  _ ‘are you okay?’  _ and  _ ‘why didn’t you tell me?’ _

A knot formed in your stomach as you opened the first text you saw. It was from Wanda, containing a link to an article and  _ ‘YOU’RE IN THE NEWS! _ 😱😱’ written underneath it. 

Well, this could only be good.

Clicking the link, it brought you to the VINE website, and an article that made you drop down onto the bed, trying to take it in.

There were photos of you and Tony outside the building the AA meetings were held. They weren’t very good quality, clearly taken on a phone. Yet it was pretty obvious that the two of you weren’t just friends, and the memory of the moment now tarnished. The article speculated on who you were, as well as announcing to the entire world that Tony Stark was attending AA meetings. 

You supposed it was only a matter of time before someone took advantage of the situation, and you hoped it hadn’t been anyone from the meetings. The invasion of privacy was cutting, and you and Tony had specifically tried to keep your relationship quiet. 

More texts buzzed in as you re-read the article, and you felt a panic rise in your chest. All your friends had found out about you and Tony in the worst possible way. Had your co-workers seen it too? Would they think the only reason Stark Industries had partnered with S.H.I.E.L.D for the charity ball was because you were seeing Tony?

Standing up, you clicked off the article as if that would make everything okay. Had Tony seen it? You pushed the thought from your mind. You’d find out when you went over there, anyway. Deciding to focus on getting ready, you couldn’t shake the nerves wracking your body.

As you sat on the bed carefully applying your makeup with a slightly shaky hand, you wondered if it was possible to sue a website for emotional distress. Beside you, your phone buzzed, causing you to get a blob of mascara on your cheek. Grabbing it, you sighed when you saw Bucky’s name flash up on screen. You’d avoided the others’ texts, but you knew you’d have to talk to them eventually. Bucky was the most likely to be persistent.

“Hey, Buck.” You tried and failed to keep your tone casual, reaching for a tissue to clean off the mascara.

“Hey,” You tried not to notice how he sounded, concern mixed with disappointment. “so..is there something you want to tell me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heaven forbid it be plain sailing huh? 🤦 Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, as always it’s a pleasure to write this story and every smidgeon of feedback is like an arrow in my heart (in the best possible way, of course) ❤️


	8. EIGHT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a party! Until it isn't..

Following an incredibly heated argument with Bucky about the VINE article, the two of you still weren’t on speaking terms a week later. Loathe as you were to admit it, you understood why he’d been so upset with you. The two of you never kept anything from each other, and he couldn’t understand why you hadn’t just been honest with him about you and Tony from the start.

Steve had sent a couple of texts, trying to smooth things over, and it hurt to ignore him but you did, not wanting to deal with the situation as much as you knew you should. You presumed Steve had informed the others of the situation, as they suddenly seemed to develop Bucky-related amnesia around you. As for the Tony situation, they were all cool with it once they got over the initial shock. They assured you that once you were happy, they were. 

Tony had laughed about the article, dismissing it as no big deal. He’d attempted to reassure you, speculating that it would all blow over before too long, and once his PR team released a statement confirming that he  _ was _ attending AA meetings and  _ ‘taking the necessary steps to improve upon his personal life while continuing to efficiently maintain his professional duties.’ _ There had been no reference made to you (much to your gratitude) and the media seemed to accept it and move on, though you were sure you’d spotted flannel-clad hacks lurking near your apartment and outside the office. 

There were some hushed whispers and furtive glances at work, and before you got the chance to do so yourself, Maria informed your colleagues that they had more than enough work to do, and gossiping would not be appearing on their paycheck. She’d asked to talk to you privately, and you had never been so worried about your legs just giving out from under you. 

“..and while the timing may not be ideal, you  _ are _ entitled to your privacy. As for the event, it’s going ahead as planned, and I’m sure we can all be professional enough to focus on the charity, not on salacious gossip. Alright, that’s everything. You can get back to work.”

“Thank you, Maria.” You nodded, heading out of her office and letting out a breath. As you walked back to your desk you responded to the whispers with a pointed look that stopped them in their tracks.

“How did that go?” Wanda asked you sat back down at your desk.

“I’ll tell you at lunch.” You sighed, ignoring the vain attempts at subtle glances being directed at you.

-

“I know, okay?” You sighed, setting your fork down on your plate. “But in my defence, I  _ was _ going to tell him,  _ and _ all of you, when I was more secure in where I stood with Tony.  __ I hate that you all had to find out the way you did, I really do. But there’s nothing I can change about it.” 

Over lunch, Steve had sent another text, which you ignored. Tapping into her weird sixth sense, Wanda had gently suggested that you’d have to talk to him eventually, and maybe, just  _ maybe _ , it would’ve been better to have just told Bucky sooner.

“What’s done is done, it’s where you go from here that counts. From what I can tell, you and Tony are more than just a casual fling,” Wanda leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. “so there’s no reason for you to feel like you can’t talk to Bucky. Why don’t you invite him and Steve over for dinner, to clear the air?”

“Wanda, I appreciate what you’re trying to do,” You sighed, leaning back in your chair. “but I just need to deal with this in my own way.”

“Alright, whatever you think is best.” She nodded gently, taking a drink of water. “so, are we still on to go dress shopping on Thursday afternoon?”

“I think so,” You nodded, keeping your gaze on the plate in front of you. “Nat said she’d come with us, she’s got that work thing coming up.”

“Oh, great. It should be fun.” Wanda gave you a smile as you looked up at her, making you feel grateful and guilty for changing the subject.

“Yeah,” You gave a small smile back, picking up your fork and pushing the last of your pasta around. “definitely.”

-

After the longest day you could remember, it was a relief to be heading over to see Tony. Admittedly, you’d stopped off at home and grabbed a large grey hoodie, throwing the hood up as you made your way past the few paparazzi that were gathered by the entrance to Stark Tower, and they seemed to buy your (terrible attempt at a) disguise. 

You took the hoodie off in the elevator, JARVIS greeting you warmly (well, as warmly as an AI could, at least) as you did. Once an eternity had passed by, you found yourself walking through the doors and into the lounge, relieved to see Tony getting up from the couch and smiling at you.

“Hey, it’s good t--”

He stopped talking, his lips quirking upwards into a bemused smile as you practically ran over to him, launching yourself into his arms. All in all he took it in stride, and you wondered if people often greeted him by just hurling themselves in his direction.

“Bad day?” He muttered softly, stroking your back.

“You could say that.” You sighed, resting your chin on his shoulder and embracing the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around you.

“I think I know how to fix it.” He grinned, pulling back from you and gently cupping your cheek, the day feeling better already.

-

After a heavenly massage, a very dirty shower and a very thorough drying off, you found yourself laying on the couch in little more than your panties and an oversized band t-shirt of Tony’s, utterly exhausted in the most wonderful way. You were pretty sure the TV was on, but you were too preoccupied with trying to keep yours eyes open, reluctantly aware you’d have to go home at some point. A buzz sounded beside you, and you reached for your phone, sighing when you saw the message looking back at you on the screen.

“Not again..” You muttered, leaving the phone down on the floor, as if that would make it go away, make you feel less guilty somehow.

“What is it?” Tony asked, placing a glass of water on the coffee table before looking at your abandoned phone.

“Steve.” You sat up, accepting the other glass that Tony passed to you.

“You’re gonna have to talk to him sometime, you know.” Tony raised an eyebrow, coming to sit beside you.

“Not you too.” You sighed, taking a sip of water.

“Afraid so.” He sighed, laying back on the couch and extending his arm. 

“You know I want to.” You ran a hand through your hair, setting your glass down on the coffee table before laying back against Tony, his arm wrapping around your waist.

“I know.” He whispered, laying a kiss on the top of your head.

-

By the time Saturday evening rolled around, you and Bucky still weren’t speaking and the others had stopped mentioning it completely. You had spent the afternoon flitting between hairdressers and beauty salons and Natasha’s apartment to borrow a pair of shoes, where you were very surprised to find her cooking what looked like some kind of Indian feast. When you’d commented that it looked great for a girl whose kitchen was the reserve of wine and takeout menus, she’d (somewhat sheepishly) admitted that Bruce had taught her how to cook, and she was making them dinner. 

Adjusting the final touches to your makeup, you took off the simple blue cotton robe that was protecting your dress. With a quick (okay, five minutes. It was like the dress was created to be worn by you) look in the mirror, you grabbed your purse and headed outside to meet Wanda downstairs.

“Hey, you look amazing!” You beamed as you stepped out of the building, catching sight of Wanda in her form fitting black boatneck dress, a simple pearl brooch pinned to the right shoulder. Her hair was in a low bun, red tendrils framing her face. 

“So do you, I’m starting to regret not buying that dress first.” She grinned, embracing you in a warm hug.

“Too little too late, Maximoff.” You winked, the two of you linking arms as you headed over to the car the company had organised. Wanda got in first, and when you followed you were more than a little surprised to see a complete stranger sitting beside her on the opposite side, dressed in a very expensive looking suit.

“Hello,” You raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out if you did actually know this man. “have we met?”

“I’m sorry,” He shook his head, letting out a soft laugh as he extended his hand. You were sure you caught wind of an accent, British maybe? “I’m James, Wanda’s boyfriend.”

“ _ Oh _ ,” You smiled, giving Wanda a subtle look as you shook his hand, introducing yourself. “it’s so nice to meet you at long last.”

“That’s on me, I’m afraid. I work crazy hours and don’t have a lot of free nights.” James gave an apologetic smile.

“It’s okay, it’s good to meet you regardless.” You smiled, sitting back in your seat and giving Wanda a discreet nod of approval as the car headed towards the hotel.

During the journey, you learned that James was indeed British, he was born and raised in London and moved to New York five years ago to take up a prominent job offer with none other than Stark Industries. He was older, you assumed about forty, and very attractive. Most importantly, Wanda couldn’t stop smiling at him and he sang her praises for most of the journey, their hands clasped together.

When you arrived at the hotel, James insisted on getting the door for both Wanda and yourself, and gently guided you through the photographers that were stationed outside the hotel.

“You know what,” Wanda smiled once you were in the busy lobby, guests in Black Tie milling about. “We’re just going to run to the ladies, why don’t you find our table and we’ll join you in a minute?” 

“Of course. See you soon.” James smiled, giving Wanda a quick kiss on the cheek before easing through the crowd of bodies, his tall figure standing out.

“So,” You smiled when the two of you stood by the luxurious sinks at the quieter side of the large bathroom. “ _ that’s _ your mystery man, huh?”

“What do you think?” Wanda asked, a nervous smile on her face.

“I think you’re a  _ very _ lucky woman, he’s amazing.” You grinned, watching as relief flooded your friend’s face.

“Isn’t he? I mean, of course  _ I _ would think that but do you, really?” She beamed, making you laugh.

“I really think so,” You nodded, gently squeezing her hand. “I’m so happy for you.”

“I’m sorry I just sprang him on you like that,” She laughed, fixing her hair in the mirror. “but we figured it was easier to share a car.”

“I can’t say it wasn’t a surprise,” You raised an eyebrow, reaching into your purse for your soft red lipstick. “but it was at least a pleasant one.”

“Good,” She smiled, looking over at you in the mirror. “listen, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that he works for Tony.”

“Well I’m one to talk,” You sighed, putting your lipstick back in your purse. “so I can’t say anything. It doesn’t matter, anyway. Come on, we have work to do.” You smiled, tucking your purse under your arm and gesturing towards the door.

-

“There you are,” James smiled, standing up as you approached the right beautifully decorated circular table in a sea of them. “I got you both a drink.” 

“Thanks honey.” Wanda smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek as you all sat down.

“Thank you, James. You didn’t have to.” You forced a smile, trying not to look wary of the peach coloured liquid sitting in a glass in front of you.

“I hope you don’t mind,” He leaned in a little closer to you, lowering his voice as Wanda talked to the woman sitting beside her “Wanda told me you don’t drink, so this is just a fruit punch.”

“Oh,” You smiled in relief, picking up the drink. “that’s fine, honestly. I’m very honest about it.” 

“I see,” James smiled, looking relieved himself. “I wouldn’t want you to think that she was talking about you in any negative way, she’s very proud of you, actually.”

You glanced over at Wanda, who gave you a  _ ‘help me’ _ look as the woman next to her babbled on.

“Really? Well, I can’t say I’m not happy to hear that. She means a lot to me, and I’m glad she’s found you, you two seem like a great match.” You smiled, taking a sip of your drink. It was delicious, by all accounts. Light, sweet and refreshing.

“I hope all your friends are so supportive.” James laughed, looking over at Wanda, who was smiling politely and holding the back of her chair like it was about to snap.

“Oh we really are,” You nodded, taking your drink in hand and standing up. “as long as you keep Wanda happy, we’re happy.” 

“That’s the idea.” He nodded, looking over at her and smiling, the sight melting your heart.

“Speaking of support,” You grinned, pushing your chair back under the table and going over to Wanda. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I think we should check how the speakers are getting on, don’t you?” 

“Yes,” Wanda tried not to sound too relieved, standing up and mouthing a silent  _ ‘thank you’ _ .

-

The evening went better than you expected, the guests for the most part keeping their gossiping to a minimum. There had been one or two hushed whispers when you went to the ladies room, but a quick smile put an end to that. You wondered if Tony not being there had anything to do with the lack of gossip, as if the two of you being in the same room at an event involving your  _ jobs _ would be all the proof necessary of an illicit affair. 

Well, if he had been there you weren’t sure you’d have managed to keep up a professional facade  _ all _ night. Alas, he had been called to a last minute meeting in Tokyo, some problem with a product launch or something. You’d only been half listening when he told you, wondering why he chose to give you the news as he was tearing your panties off and hitching you up onto your kitchen counter.

-

Once the speakers that had been organised finished, the jazz band started up and the dancefloor burst to life. A small part of you wished you were out there with Tony, the two of you twirling under the chandelier, laughing at the whispers and stares, Tony kissing you in front of everyone and claiming you as his.

Instead, you settled for watching Wanda and James dance, whispering and giggling to each other. After a moment, you turned your attention back to the table, taking a sip of your drink (the fruit punch had quickly become a favourite) and grabbing your phone from your purse.

A text from Tony popped up on the screen, and you marveled at his mind-reading abilities.

_ How’s it going? _

_ It’s great, though the head of SI hasn’t bothered to show up, which is a shame as I heard he’s really attractive..  _

_ Well I’m sure this incredibly attractive billionaire genius wishes he could be there _

_ I won’t lie, he’s missing out. The canapes alone are incredible _

_ They do look delicious. In fact I’d go so far as to say I’ve never seen canapes look so good. Makes me wish I had one right now _

_ I can’t blame you, though they are pretty hot so you’d have to eat them slowly, really take your time _

_ The only acceptable way  _

“Hey,” You looked up as Jamie, a friend of yours from work slipped into the seat beside you.

“Oh, hey.” You smiled, quickly shoving your phone into your purse and trying to cool down. 

“Don’t feel like dancing?” They smiled, nodding towards the dance floor. 

“Not really,” You drained the last of your drink, pushing the glass towards the middle of the table with the others. “You?”

“Nah,” They grinned, waving over a young waitress. “I’m a terrible dancer. I prefer to judge others.” 

“Of course.” You laughed, watching as the waitress came over to the table, a tray of pink drinks in her hand.

“Can we take two of these please?” Jamie smiled, gesturing to the drinks.

“Oh, yes,” The waitress smiled, placing two glasses down on the table.

"Can I ask, is there alcohol in this?" You asked politely, examining the drink in front of you.

"Uh, no, ma’am”. The waitress smiled, nodding over at another table. “Just cranberry juice, lime and..mint, that’s it."

“Great, thank you.” You smiled, taking a sip as she walked away. It was stronger than the punch, much stronger. Probably the mint.

“Are you driving?” Jamie asked, and you remembered that you hadn’t told them that you didn’t drink.

“Yeah,” You nodded, feeling this wasn’t exactly the time or place to tell them the truth. “I am. So, what did you think of the speakers?”

You finished your drink, not confident you’d get a second, the mint completely overpowering. As Jamie was talking, you found yourself struggling to concentrate, your dress feeling too tight and the lights above you way too hot.

"Everything okay?" Jamie asked, turning to you. “you look a little flushed.”

“I’m just a little warm, I think I'll get some fresh air.” You smiled, trying to ignore the sharp pain that shot into your stomach. “Back in a minute.”

As you walked towards the lobby, your stomach tightened and your headache pounded, heat rising in your body. Dizziness came over you and you slowed your pace, feeling like you were about to vomit. Before you reached the door your vision blurred, body feeling like it was on fire before everything became a golden haze, the lights above you slowly fading away as you fell into darkness.

-

“She’s had a severe reaction to the alcohol in her system, and we’ve had to pump her stomach. We’ll be keeping her in for observation for at least the next twenty four hours, and see where we go from there. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course. Thank you, Doctor.”

Waiting until you heard footsteps walk away, you slowly opened your eyes, adjusting to the bright lights above you. A deep pain resounded in your stomach as you tried to sit up, a hand reaching out and taking your arm, which, you winced as you noticed, had an IV attached to it.

“Hey, hey. Here, let me help.” 

Bucky was standing beside the bed, his hair mussed up and wearing sweatpants and a hoodie that suggested he’d gotten here in a rush.

“Thank you.” You managed a weak smile as he helped you sit up, your hands falling to your lap. He sat down in the chair beside the bed and a silence crept over the two of you. Glancing beside you, you noticed a bouquet of flowers sitting in a simple plastic vase of water.

“Are those for me?” You asked, more to yourself than Bucky.

“From Tony. He couldn’t get a flight back so he had those sent over.” 

“He didn’t have to do that.” You murmured softly, an ache hitting your chest.

“He cares about you.” Bucky smiled softly as you turned back to him.

“Listen, Buck,me and Tony..I should have told you sooner and-” You started, the words tumbling out on top of each other.

“It’s alright,” He shook his head,standing up and moving over beside your bed. “I overreacted. It was just such a shock to see it like that, you know? But I’m so happy for you, honestly.” He leant down and wrapped his arms around you.

“I didn’t drink tonight, Buck, I  _ swear _ , I didn’t mean to--”

" _ Shh _ , it's okay, I know." He rubbed your arm gently, a kind smile on his face that broke your heart.

“I’m sorry.” You felt a tear fall down your cheek, a waterfall soon following.

“It’s okay,” He soothed, his embrace warm. “everything’s gonna be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, apologies for taking so long to update this, it sat half-finished on my laptop for longer than I care to admit 🤦 Hopefully it was enjoyable, I didn’t want it to be too serious, but wanted to change the tone slightly. As always, feel free to let me now what you think, feedback is the greatest gift you can give 🥰

**Author's Note:**

> So this chapter was originally much shorter, but I just ran with the ideas as they came!
> 
> Hopefully this wasn't too much all at once, it was very enjoyable to write so hopefully as enjoyable to read.
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you thought, feedback is always welcome :)


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